St. John's University Athletics
Shenneika Smith Named To BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
3/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2012
QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's junior guard Shenneika Smith was named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team on Tuesday, following her 14.0 points per game performance at the league's postseason championships in Hartford, Conn.
"I was really proud of Shenneika's performance, she has been a defensive stopper for us all year long but this weekend she really showed her capabilities on the offensive end as well," said BIG EAST Coach of the Year Kim Barnes Arico. "I am really impressed with her growth and maturity as a player and as a person and I'm looking forward to finishing out this year with her and having next year, her senior year be terrific."
Smith is the first St. John's player to be selected to the All-Tournament team since Sabrina Johnson and Dolores Dixon made the team in 1988. Johnson was also the Most Valuable Player of the 1988 Championships. Overall, Smith is St. John's sixth student-athlete to be selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team.
Smith, also a 2012 first team All-BIG EAST selection, joins Stefanie Dolson, Bria Hartley and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Connecticut), and Kayla McBride and Devereaux Peters (Notre Dame) on this year's All-Tournament squad. Mosqueda-Lewis, the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Championships, which finished Tuesday night at the XL Center. Connecticut, the No. 3 seed, won the BIG EAST Tournament Title with a 63-54 victory over No. 1 seed Notre Dame.
The Brooklyn, N.Y., native scored a season-best 24 points against then-No. 20/17 Louisville during Sunday's Quarterfinals, leading No. 2 seed St. John's to its first Semifinal game since 1988. In the Conference Semifinals, St. John's was outscored by eventual-Champion UConn, 74-43.
Smith's 2012 first team All-Conference selection was her second-straight time on the all-conference teams after being named to the second team in 2011. Smith was also a 2010 All-Freshman team honoree and a two-time Preseason All-BIG EAST pick. During the 2011-12 season, Smith was a two-time selection to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (Jan. 9 and Jan. 16). She was also a member of the 2011 Junkanoo Jam and the 2011 St. John's-Chartwells All-Tournament squads. She currently leads the Red Storm in scoring (12.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg). She led St. John's in scoring 12 times during the season as the Red Storm went 9-3 with Smith as the leading scorer.
