St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Women's Basketball Releases 2010-11 Schedule
9/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 17, 2010
- 2010-11 Women's Basketball Printable Schedule (PDF)
- 2010-11 Women's Basketball Prospectus (PDF)
- Women's Basketball Season Ticket Information
- INSIDE ST. JOHN'S Women's Basketball Video Guide
- Follow Women's Basketball on Twitter
- BIG EAST Announces Women's Basketball Conference Schedule (HTML)
- Stevens Named Sporting News Presason Second Team All-American
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's women's basketball team announced its 2010-11 schedule on Friday, coinciding with the release of the 128-game BIG EAST Conference composite schedule. The Red Storm's schedule consists of nine games against last season's NCAA Tournament teams; 17 teams that made the postseason in 2010, 13 home contests, which includes a match-up against the defending National Champions, UConn at Madison Square Garden; and a home-and-home BIG EAST series against Seton Hall.
The format for BIG EAST play is a 16-game schedule, which has been in place since the 2005-06 season. Each team will play 16 conference games - seven opponents home only, seven opponents away only, and one opponent both home and away.
"Every year we play in the toughest league in the country, and we know our BIG EAST schedule will be challenging with every game being a battle," remarked ninth-year head coach Kim Barnes Arico. "We're really excited about having the opportunity to play two big-time tournaments at Kansas State and at Maryland, which will help prepare for the conference schedule that lies ahead. After two tournaments on the road, we'll be back at home in December to host the St. John's/Chartwells Holiday Classic for the third year in a row. We're enthusiastic about having teams from the West Coast and Mississippi travel here to Queens to play on our home court at Carnesecca Arena.
"Opening the season against Marist, an NCAA tournament team, on the road will be a good first test for us. If we win, we could have the opportunity to play against a Big 12 team in Kansas State. Later, we'll be facing Liberty, another NCAA tournament squad, at Maryland, with the chance of playing a perennial ACC contender.
"Every game will be a battle, and night in and night out we'll face the toughest competition in the country once league play begins," Barnes Arico continued. "We're excited to be able to host Rutgers and UConn this year, especially having the opportunity to play Connecticut, the No. 1 team in the country in the No. 1 arena in the country - Madison Square Garden. We look forward to bringing our younger players to compete in the great atmospheres in Notre Dame, Louisville and West Virginia."
The Red Storm, who were ranked as high as No. 13 in college basketball preview magazines with a Sporting News preseason Second Team All-America selection in junior Da'Shena Stevens, will look to build on its success from 2009-10. Last season was highlighted by St. John's fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round with a 65-47 victory over Princeton. St. John's finished 25-7 overall, tied the program mark with 12 BIG EAST wins and boasted a 13-1 home slate. The Red Storm finished No. 15 in the final AP Poll, also tying the program-record for the highest ranking. Stevens was named a WBCA Region I All-American, and an AP Honorable Mention All-American, rookie Shenneika Smith was named a Full Court Press Second Team All-American and Barnes Arico was named MBWA Coach of the Year. Nine lettermen will also return, including four starters.
The 2010-11 Red Storm squad will open the season with a trip to Manhattan, Kansas for the Commerce Bank/Wildcat Classic on Nov. 12-13. In Kansas, St. John's will face the Marist Red Foxes, the seven-time MAAC Regular Season Champions and 2010 NCAA Tournament team and either Kansas State or Grambling State in the Saturday afternoon match-up at Bramlage Coliseum.
After Kansas, St. John's returns home for two home games against local rivals, Manhattan and Columbia on Nov. 16 and Nov. 19 at Carnesecca Arena. On Nov. 22, the Red Storm will travel to Jonesboro, Ark., for a Monday match up against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at the Convocation Center. The meeting is the first between the two teams.
St. John's will return to Carnesecca Arena for a single game against Nicholls State on Friday, Nov. 26. The Red Storm and Colonels faced each other just once before, in 2006. St. John's won, 63-50. The Red Storm will have a quick turnaround as the team travels to St. Bonaventure, N.Y. on Nov. 29 to play the Bonnies at the Reilly Center. The meeting between the teams is also a first-time event. On Dec. 4, St. John's will conclude its two-game road swing with a BIG EAST-America East Conference match up at Boston University.
The Red Storm will play its first BIG EAST game of the 2010-11 season on Dec. 8 as the team hosts Seton Hall in Carnesecca Arena in a mid-week, 7 p.m. match up. Seton Hall and St. John's have a home-and-home series, where the Red Storm will travel to South Orange, N.J. in mid-January for the rematch.
On Dec. 11, non-conference action continues and the Red Storm will play its second Atlantic 10 opponent with a trip Rhode Island. St. John's will face the URI Rams in a Saturday matinee at the Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I.
In mid-December, the Red Storm will host the Third Annual Chartwells Holiday Classic featuring Southern Mississippi, UC-Santa Barbara and Fresno State on Dec. 18-19. St. John's has never played Southern Mississippi or UCSB before, and is 1-1 in the all-time series with Fresno State. The Red Storm will open the tournament against Southern Mississippi at 1 p.m. on Saturday. USCB vs. Fresno State will follow at 3 p.m. On Sunday, there will be a losers bracket game at noon, followed by the winners game at 2 p.m. With Fresno State and St. John's in the Classic, Carnesecca will be home to two 2010 NCAA Tournament teams for the weekend.
St. John's will close out the calendar year and conclude non-conference action with a trip to College Park, Md., for the Maryland Terrapin Classic on Dec. 28-29. The Red Storm will face Liberty, another NCAA Tourney team from last season, in the first game of the Classic, then either Maryland or La Salle on Sunday.
The Red Storm rings in the new year as the heart of BIG EAST Conference play begins at Louisville (Jan. 4). Four days later, St. John's returns to Queens to host DePaul (Jan. 8).
St. John's will host the defending National Champions, the University of Connecticut on basketball's grandest stage, Madison Square Garden, the World's Most Famous Arena, on Jan. 12. The Red Storm is 6-1 all time at MSG, with its only loss to the Huskies in 2007. St. John's and Connecticut will play Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m., following the Red Storm men's game against Syracuse at 7 p.m.
After the Connecticut game, the Red Storm will travel to South Orange, N.J. for a rematch with Seton Hall (Jan. 15). Returning to Queens on Jan. 18, St. John's will host Cincinnati in Carnesecca for a mid-week match up at 7 p.m. The Red Storm will play the next two games on the road, playing at Notre Dame (Jan. 23) and Providence (Jan. 29) before returning home to host perennial powerhouse, Rutgers, in a Tuesday night match up (Feb. 1).
As the final month of the regular season continues, St. John's will travel to Marquette (Feb. 5), South Florida (Feb. 16) and Villanova (Feb. 22) and host Georgetown (Feb. 13), Syracuse (Feb. 19) and Pittsburgh in front of the Red Storm's home crowd at Carnesecca Arena. St. John's will end the regular season in Morgantown, W. Va., facing the Mountaineers in a Monday night (Feb. 28) match-up against a 2010 NCAA Tournament Second Round team.
The regular-season concludes on Feb. 28. The BIG EAST Women's Basketball Championship will be held at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., March 4-8.
Television dates and times will be released at a later date.
To receive St. John's women's basketball updates send an email to Kristin Duffy at duffyk@stjohns.edu with the subject line: St. John's Women's Basketball News.
