St. John's University Athletics
Stevens, Smith, McKenith Earn All-BIG EAST Honors
3/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 4, 2010
QUEENS, N.Y. - A trio of St. John's women's basketball players have earned All-BIG EAST Honors as announced by the league Thursday. Da'Shena Stevens was named first team All-BIG EAST, while Shenneika Smith and Nadirah McKenith garnered BIG EAST Freshman Team honors.
Stevens earns BIG EAST honors for the second-straight season. The sophomore is nearly averaging a double-double with a team-high 14.2 points and 7.7 rebounds. She has recorded 22 double-digit scoring games, including six 20-point performances, and she leads STJ with six double-doubles. Her scoring average in the 10th best in the conference and her rebounding average is the ninth best. A Naismith Award Midseason Candidate, Stevens averaged 12.6 points and 8.6 rebounds in BIG EAST play, finishing second and first on the squad, respectively. Her rebounding in conference contests ranks the sixth best. The Stamford, Conn., native had a big game in the 76-71 upset-win over then-No. 4/3 Notre Dame on Feb. 16, finishing with 21 points and 11 boards.
The team's second-leading scorer averaging 12.6 points, Smith was a unanimous all-freshman team honoree. A three-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week selection, Smith has posted 21 double-digit scoring games and three 20-plus point performances. She is tied for third in rebounding, grabbing 5.1 boards per game, and she ranks second in blocks with 24. She has also posted two double-doubles this season. In BIG EAST contests, Smith leads the team with 12.9 points per game and ranks second with 23 steals and 11 blocks. The guard is the third-leading scorer among all BIG EAST freshmen in conference contests and all games. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native had one of the biggest games of her season in STJ's upset win over then-No. 4/3 Notre Dame on Feb. 16, posting her first-career double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
McKenith, the Red Storm's starting point guard, also earned all-freshman team honors. A BIG EAST Freshman of the Week selection and Lieberman Award final candidate, McKenith is averaging 7.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.3 steals. She leads the team in assists and steals, and ranks third among all BIG EAST players in assists and is fourth in steals. The Newark, N.J., native has posted two double-doubles and eight double-digit scoring contests this season. In BIG EAST games, she is averaging 5.1 assists to rank third in the league and is averaging 2.6 steals to tie for second. McKenith had one of her best games of the season at No. 1/1 UConn on Feb. 13, recording her first-career double-double with a team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. McKenith recorded a season-high 14 assists against Pittsburgh in the Red Storm's regular-season finale on March 1, tying for the sixth most in a game all-time at STJ.
The No. 4 seed Red Storm will return to action on Sunday at noon in the BIG EAST Championship Quarterfinals held at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. STJ will face the winner of the Louisville/Pittsburgh vs. Notre Dame game.
