DANCING IN KNOXVILLE: Day Three Recap

The Red Storm met with media prior to today's practice at Thompson-Boling Arena.

3/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

March 23, 2014

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The St. John's women's basketball team is back in action on Monday at 9 p.m. when the eighth-seeded Red Storm takes on top-seeded Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament Second Round. St. John's enters the contest with a 23-10 overall record and is receiving votes in both national polls, while the hosting Lady Vols sit at 28-5 and are ranked third in the country. Monday night's game will be televised on ESPN2 and available via simulcast on ESPN3.

Tournament Tip Off Quick Tips

The Red Storm sits at 23-10 (13-5 BIG EAST) on the season after a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the First Round with a 71-68 win over No. 25 USC following a last-second 3-pointer by Briana Brown.
For the fifth-straight season, the Red Storm earned an at-large bid to the Big Dance and was tabbed the No. 8 seed in the Lousiville Region for the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
Monday will mark St. John's sixth trip to the Second Round and its first since 2012. The Red Storm is 1-4 when playing in the Second Round.
St. John's Second Round clash will be televised on ESPN2 with Joe Davis and Maria Taylor on the call. The game will also be via simulcast on ESPN3.
Guard Aliyyah Handford broke the program's 38-year single-season record for most points by a sophoÂmore when she notched her 28th double-figure performance of the campaign with 13 points against DePaul in the BIG EAST Tournament Final on March 11. She now has 544 points on the season.
Junior forward Amber Thompson broke the program's single-season rebounds record bringing in 17 rebounds against USC on March 22. She currently has 304 rebounds on the season.
In the March 17 national rankings, St. John's received two votes in the AP Top 25 and earned nine nods in the March 3 USA Today Coaches Poll. The Red Storm's highest ranking of the season came on Feb. 17 when the team was No. 22 in the AP Top 25.
Senior point guard Eugeneia McPherson was named the recipient of the 2014 BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award, while sophomore guard Aliyyah Handford was a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Also garnering postseason awards were junior forward Amber Thompson who was named All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention and freshman forward Jade Walker who earned a seat on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. Handford was also tabbed to the 2014 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.
The Red Storm is 7-8 overall in the NCAA Tournament amid its fifth-straight appearance. This is the first time St. John's has earned the eighth seed with its highest being No. 3 in 2012.
The Red Storm is ranked 6th in the country in 3-point field goal defense after limiting opponents to a 26.3 percentage from behind the arc.
Saturday's matchup between St. John's and Tennessee will be only the second all-time meeting between the two programs and the first since 1982. The Lady Vols posted a 69-56 win over St. John's on Dec. 3, 1982.

Last Outing In The Big Dance

Senior captain Briana Brown hit the game-winning 3-pointer with four tenths of a second remaining in regulation to hand the eighth-seeded St. John's women's basketball team a 71-68 comeback victory over ninth-seeded University of SouthÂern California in the NCAA Tournament First Round on March 22.
In a back-and-forth affair that saw the Red Storm claw itself out of a double-digit first-half deficit, sophomore Aliyyah Handford led all scorers with 27 points after going 11-of-15 from the free throw line - a new career high for makes from the charity stripe.
The Red Storm bench outscored USC's 22-4 and St. John's edged the rebounding battle, 41-39, while finishing plus-12 in points in the paint and scoring 17 secÂond-chance points. Junior forward Amber Thompson led St. John's efforts on the boards by tying a career high with 17 rebounds to break the St. John's women's basketball single-season record for rebounds.

Red Storm's NCAA Tourney Review

The Red Storm stamped its ticket to the program's ninth trip to the Big Dance earning a No. 8 seed in the Louisville Region.
2014 marks St. John's sixth at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm won the BIG EAST Tournament Championship in 1983, '84, '88, earning an automatic berth for those years.
St. John's is one of two teams making its ninth overall appearance in the Tournament joined by Georgia Tech.
The Red Storm has a 7-8 overall record in the NCAA Tournament with it's last win coming in dramatic fashion over ninth-seeded USC on March 22.
St. John's has made it to the Second Round six times (1988, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014) and Sweet 16 once (2012).
This marks the first time in program history the Red Storm have been seeded No. 8.

SJU NCAA Tourney Records

In the First Round win over USC on March 22, Amber Thompson set the program record for most rebounds in an NCAA Tournament contest with 17 boards. The previous mark was Debbie Beckford's 11 rebounds in St. John's 85-64 Second Round loss to Virginia in 1988.
Aliyyah Handford broke the program record for most made free-throws in a game with 11. Nadirah McKÂenith previously held the record with nine makes from the charity stripe in the Red Storm's opening round double-overtime loss to Dayton last season.
Handford was two points shy of tying the all-time NCAA Tournament mark for a St. John's player in points with 27. The 31-year-old record has been held been Debbie Beckford who scored 29 points against Virginia in 1983.

St. John's On A Neutral Court

The Red Storm is 4-1 in neutral site contests this season after Saturday's 71-68 First Round victory over USC.
One of the four wins also includes St. John's 72-70 upset victory over No. 24 Texas A&M at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 22. Sophomore guard Aliyyah Handford scored the game-winning basket with 2.8 seconds remaining and finished with a game-high 27 points.
St. John's lone loss was a 65-57 loss to No. 23 DePaul in the BIG EAST Tournament Championship finals.
Eugeneia McPherson has posted 21 assists in five neutral contests while Handford leads all scorers with 22.0 ppg.

Tartamella Inks First NCAA Victory

Saturday's 71-68 victory over USC marked the first NCAA Tournament win for second-year head coach Joe Tartamella.
After becoming the first coach in program history to reach the Big Dance in his first season, Tartamella also became the fastest St. John's women's basketball head coach to win an NCAA Tournament game, doing it in just his second campaign.

Thompson Breaks Single Season Rebounding Record

Amber Thompson's 17-rebound performance against USC gave her sole possession of St. John's single season rebounding record. Thompson now has 307 rebounds on the season.
Thompson has pulled down double-digit rebounds in 13 games this season.
Thompson has now grabbed 705 boards for her career. The all-time leader in rebounds in program history is Dianne Pugh, who tallied 868 rebounds in her four-year career from 1980-84.