St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm On Road Versus No. 2 Connecticut
2/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2012
GAME INFO
(RV/RV) St. John's vs. No. 2 Connecticut
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 at 7 p.m.
Gampel Pavilion (10,027) | Storrs, Conn.
- Game Notes (PDF)
- Follow St. John's Women's Basketball on Twitter
- 2011-12 Women's Basketball Media Guide (PDF)
STORRS, Conn. - St. John's All-time winningest women's basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico and the Red Storm will take to the road for the second-straight weekend on Saturday, this time traveling to perennial powerhouse No. 2 Connecticut to face the Huskies at Gampel Pavilion. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. in the BIG EAST regional match up. It is the second time this season St. John's will face a No. 2 ranked team.
Saturday's Tip Off Quick Hits
St. John's fans can follow live stats via GameTracker on RedStormSports.com. Fans can also follow live twitter updates via @stj_wbasketball. Join the conversation with the hashtag #stjwbb.
St. John's (17-8, 9-3 BIG EAST) had a six-day hiatus after defeating then-No. 17/16 Rutgers, 61-52, in Piscataway, N.J. on Sunday. With the win, Barnes Arico broke St. John's all-time coaching wins record with 169. She tied Joe Mullaney Jr.'s previously set record against USF (Feb. 8), reaching the mark in 41 fewer games than her predecessor.
The Red Storm has been a road warrior in the conference this season, winning its last five consecutive BIG EAST games away from Queens. The only time St. John's lost on the road in league play this season was on Dec. 7, 2011 at then-No. 20/21 DePaul.
Saturday's game is the Red Storm's seventh against a ranked opponent in 2011-12. St. John's is 3-3 against top 25 foes overall and 1-1 against ranked teams on the road. With the win over then-No. 17/16 Rutgers on Feb. 12, St. John's earned its first upset over a top 25 opponent since Jan. 23, 2007 when the Red Storm defeated then-No. 23/RV Pittsburgh, 79-69.
Connecticut (24-2, 11-1) will be looking to defend its current home winning streak against St. John's on Saturday. The Huskies have won 99-straight games at home with their last loss to then-No. 4/4 Tennessee, 70-64 on Jan. 6, 2007. Connecticut is currently riding a 12-game winning streak and jumped ahead of Notre Dame in the national polls this week.
Saturday's game is the 54th meeting all-time between these two BIG EAST foes. St. John's has played only five teams 50+ times, with Seton Hall (61), Providence (57), Syracuse (53), Connecticut (53) and Villanova (51).
As of Monday's reporting schedule, St. John's moved up from 35 to 29 on the NCAA.org's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and boasts a strength of schedule of 13.
Since returning a fully healthy roster on Dec. 31, the Red Storm has won 10 of its last 12 games. St. John's is 12-3 with senior forward Da'Shena Stevens back from her early-season injury. She returned Dec. 17.
With Stevens back in the lineup, St. John's averages 62.2 ppg and held opponents to 52.3 ppg. Without Stevens, the Red Storm averaged 61.5 ppg and let opponents score an average of 58.4 ppg.
The Red Storm is 5-1 over BIG EAST opponents on the road. Four St. John's players average double figures on the road, led by Stevens with 14.2 points per game. Junior Shenneika Smith is a close second with 12.0 ppg and Eugeneia McPherson (10.8 ppg) and Nadirah McKenith (10.3 ppg).
Red Storm vs. Huskies
The Huskies lead the all-time series, 37-16, with most of the Red Storm's wins coming in the mid-1970s to 1980s. St. John's won the first 11 meetings with Connecticut. But the Huskies have been undefeated since 1993, going 26-0 from 1993 through the present.
St. John's last win was on Jan. 6, 1993, a three-point thriller that gave St. John's a 54-51 victory.
Coaching Match Up
Newly-minted the all-time winningest coach in St. John's women's basketball history, Kim Barnes Arico is in her 10th season with the Red Storm with an 169-132 (.561). She broke the coaching wins record with a 61-52 upset victory at then-No. 17/16 Rutgers on Feb. 12. Earlier in the week, Barnes Arico coached her 300th game as St. John's head coach, marking the milestone with a victory over USF. She is 263-204 (.563) overall as a head coach.
Connecticut's head coach Geno Auriemma boasts a winning record of 795-126 (.863) in his 27th year with the Huskies' program.
When Last They Met
No. 2 Connecticut defeated then-No. 22 St. John's, 84-52 at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 12, 2011. Maya Moore and Tiffany Hayes led the Huskies with 21 points each.
The score was tied through the first five minutes of play before UConn took a 48-25 lead at the halftime break.
The second half scoring margin differential was just nine points in UConn's favor but the first half damage was too much for St. John's to overcome.
The Red Storm played UConn forwards aggressively down low and off the fast break with Da'Shena Stevens and senior Centhya "Coco" Hart drawing three charging fouls between them.
Stevens led St. John's scoring effort with 12 points. Nadirah McKenith had eight points, five assists and five steals.
Last Time At Gampel
In 2009-10, then-No. 25/24 St. John's played then-No. 1/1 Connecticut at Gampel and did not shy away from the challenge. The Red Storm held Connecticut to its second-lowest margin of victory for the year and the lowest in BIG EAST play, in a 66-52 decision. The St. John's defense held the Huskies' to 66 points on 39.1 percent shooting, both season-lows for the '09-`10 UConn squad. Prior to the game, Connecticut was averaging 84.2 ppg and outscoring its opponents by a margin of 39.1. St. John's scored 19 points off UConn turnovers.
Then-rookie Nadirah McKenith had a team-high 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Scouting Connecticut
The No. 2 Huskies have lost just two games this season once to BIG EAST rival then-No. 3 Notre Dame, 74-67 in overtime (Jan. 7) and the other to top-ranked Baylor (Dec. 18), 66-61. Connecticut most recently regained the No. 2 spot in the national polls after Notre Dame lost to West Virginia on their home court on Feb. 12. The Huskies are on a 12-game winning streak in 2011-12 and a 99-game winning streak at home.
Connecticut's defense is No. 1 in the country, holding opponents to an average 44.4 points per game. The Huskies also lead Division I in scoring margin, averaging 34.4 points better than their opponents, assists per game (20.0/gm) and field-goal percentage defense (.296).
UConn most recently defeated Oklahoma, 73-55 on Feb. 13. The Huskies have four players averaging over 10-plus points per game, led by Tiffany Hayes with 15.0. Bria Hartley has a second-highest 14.4 ppg, while rookie Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis adds 13.8 ppg and Stefanie Dolson with 10.2.
Hayes had 23 points at Oklahoma.
Postgame Notes: Rutgers
STJ 61, RU 52
St. John's defeated then-No. 17/16 Rutgers for the second time this season on Sunday, Feb. 12, 61-52 during ESPN's Rivalry Week Challenge.
It was the first time since Feb. 21, 2010 against Syracuse that Rutgers lost at home to an unranked opponent. This season, St. John's is the only team not in the top 10 to defeat Rutgers on its home court. Rutgers' only other losses at the Louis Brown Athletic Center were against No. 2 Notre Dame and then-No. 6 Tennessee. The last time Rutgers lost to a team outside of the top 10 at home was against then-No. 18/19 St. John's on Feb. 24, 2010, the Red Storm's last visit to the RAC.
The win was the 169th of head coach Kim Barnes Arico's St. John's career, making her St. John's women's basketball's all-time winningest coach. St. John's also advances to 4-0 in the recent series against its regional conference rival Rutgers.
Nadirah McKenith led the Red Storm with 18 points, connecting on 11-for-13 free throws, including seven in the final five minutes to help secure the Red Storm's victory. Rutgers had pulled within four points in the last 47 seconds of the game, but McKenith held on with her success at the line. McKenith also added six assists and three blocks
McKenith was helped by Da'Shena Stevens with 16 points. Stevens shot 5-of-10 from the field and had a team-best eight rebounds. Shenneika Smith added 11 points, also shooting 5-for-10 from the field. It was Smith's 14th-straight double-figure scoring game. Once again, St. John's held Rutgers' leading scorer April Sykes to less than 10 points, as she went 2-for-13 from the floor, 3-of-4 from the foul line for seven points.
Barnes Arico Breaks Record
10th-year head coach Kim Barnes Arico broke former head coach Joe Mullaney Jr.'s (1984-1996) all-time wins record with the 61-52 win at then-No. 17/16 Rutgers on Feb. 12.
Barnes Arico broke the record with 169 wins. She had only coached 301 games at St. John's.
Recent Awards
On Monday, Feb. 13, senior Da'Shena Stevens tallied her second-straight BIG EAST weekly award of the season as she was named to the league's honor roll. The accolade is Stevens' ninth overall and the seventh for St. John's this season.
Stevens led the Red Storm with 16.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg in last week's 2-0 success. She had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win over USF and 16 points, eight rebounds at then-No. 17/16 Rutgers.
Stevens is averaging a team-high 15.0 ppg in the last five games.
In The Polls
After defeating its two ranked opponents in as many weeks, the Red Storm regained votes in the national polls. On Jan. 23, St. John's had eight votes in the Associated Press Poll and one in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25. By Feb. 13, St. John's had gained 24 votes in the Associated Press Poll (No. 29) and 12 in the Coaches Poll (No. 32).
StormTracker
Juniors Eugeneia McPherson and Shenneika Smith lead the Red Storm in scoring with 12.8 ppg each. With McPherson and Smith, classmate Nadirah McKenith and senior Da'Shena Stevens also score in double figures with 11.5 ppg and 10.4 ppg, respectively.
Smith and Stevens have been St. John's most consistent scorers to date with Smith scoring in double figures for the past 14 games. Stevens has scored 10 or more in the past six-consecutive games and leads the Red Storm in scoring with 15.0 ppg in the team's last five contests.
McPherson paved her way early in the season and had back-to-back 20-point efforts vs. top-ranked Baylor (Dec. 11) and Prairie View A&M (Dec. 17). She had scored in double figures in 15-straight contests (Nov. 25-Jan. 21) and led the Red Storm in scoring with 17 points against then-No. 7/8 Rutgers. She averages 11.4 ppg in league action. She has scored in double figures in 16 of the past 20 games.
McKenith had a team-high 18 points at Rutgers on Feb. 12 and has been the team's high rebounder over the last five games with 6.8 per game.
Up Next
St. John's will host West Virginia on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at Carnesecca Arena. The contest is St. John's designated Play4Kay game and the Red Storm will be wearing its pink home jerseys as well as pink sneakers, socks, shoelaces and accessories. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. and the contest will air on CBSSN with Deb Antonelli and Brent Stover on the call.
