St. John's University Athletics
No. 18/19 STJ Travels To Face Rutgers
2/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. (Feb. 23, 2010) - The No. 18/19 St. John's women's basketball team will look to continue its winning ways on the road when it travels to face Rutgers on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
• There will be a live video and audio stream of the game that can be accessed for free on ScarletKnights.com. Live stats will also be available on Rutgers Web site or on RedStormSports.com.
Red Storm Continues To Be Ranked In Both Top 25 Polls
• The St. John's women's basketball team has moved up to the No. 18 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday, tying its second-highest ranking in history. The Red Storm was ranked No. 22 for the past two weeks in the AP Poll before receiving 309 points to climb four spots to No. 18 in week 15. During the 1983-84 campaign, St. John's was listed No. 18 twice before earning its highest ranking all-time when it was listed No. 15 on Jan. 22, 1984. The Red Storm has either been ranked or has received votes 14 of 15 weeks in the AP Poll.
• St. John's climbed to the No. 19 spot in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll released this week, earning its highest ranking in history. The Red Storm was ranked No. 23 in last week's poll before receiving 201 points to climb up four spots in week 15.
• The Red Storm is off to one of its best starts in history with a 21-5, 9-4 BIG EAST slate. The 20-win season is the 11th in STJ history and the third under the direction of eighth-year head coach Kim Barnes Arico.
• Prior to this season, the last time St. John's was ranked in either Top 25 Poll was the 2005-06 campaign, when it was ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll and No. 24 in the Coaches' Poll on Feb. 6, 2006, in week 13. That year was a breakthrough season for the Red Storm and Barnes Arico, as the team earned its first NCAA Tournament berth in nearly 20 years.
McKenith Final Nominee For Lieberman Award
• Nadirah McKenith has been selected as one of eight final nominees for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which recognizes the nation's top point guard in Division I women's basketball and is sponsored by the Detroit Rotary Club.
• McKenith is the only freshman among the eight final nominees and she is one of two BIG EAST players (DePaul's Sam Quigley) to make the list. McKenith has made an immediate impact at the point position for St. John's, winning the starting job after the fifth game of the season.
History Lesson
• The meeting between St. John's and Rutgers is the 35th in history. The Scarlet Knights lead the series, 31-3.
Scouting The Scarlet Knights
• Rutgers enters the game with a 15-12, 7-6 BIG EAST slate. The Scarlet Knights had a three-game winning streak going before losing to West Virginia, 55-51, on Feb. 16, and to Syracuse, 76-45, in their last outing on Feb. 21. Brittany Ray is pacing the team in scoring, averaging 14.9 points, while Chelsey Lee leads the way in rebounding, grabbing 7.3 boards.
Biggest Win In Program History
• St. John's won its biggest game in program history when it stunned then-No. 4/3 Notre Dame with a 76-71 upset victory at Carnesecca Arena on Feb. 16. The win was only the third in history for STJ over Notre Dame, with all three Red Storm victories coming under the direction of Kim Barnes Arico and against Top-15 ranked Irish teams.
Surpassing Expectations
• With nine wins in BIG EAST action this season, the Red Storm has more than doubled its four league wins from a year ago and sits in fifth place in the standings after being picked to finish 12th in the preseason poll.
Close To Tying Her Season High
• The Red Storm's 21 wins this season are the second-most by an STJ team coached by Barnes Arico. In 2005-06. Barnes Arico led St. John's to a 22-8 record and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Pair Nabs BIG EAST Honors
• Shenneika Smith was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, while teammate Da'Shena Stevens was named to the honor roll on Feb. 22.
• Smith, who earned Freshman of the Week honors for the third time this season, and Stevens led the Red Storm to its biggest win in program history with a 76-71 upset victory over then-No. 4/3 Notre Dame on Feb. 16. The win was only the third in STJ history over the Fighting Irish. Smith posted her first-career double-double with a game-high 23 points and a personal-best 10 rebounds. Stevens scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Irish, recording her fifth double-double of the year.
RPI Ranks Among The Top 20
• In the report released by the NCAA on Feb. 22, St. John's RPI was rated the 20th best in the country and the fifth best among BIG EAST schools.
On Deck
• The Red Storm will return home on Saturday and host Villanova at 2 p.m. on Senior Day and in the Red Storm's Pink Zone contest. The first 500 fans will receive a free St. John's Pink Zone t-shirt courtesy of Coca-Cola. During the game, there will be a variety of promotional items given away, in addition to a silent auction that will be held during the contest.
