St. John's University Athletics
Women's Basketball Releases 2014-15 Non-Conference Schedule
8/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Aug. 4, 2014
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QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's third season under head coach Joe Tartamella is set to begin on Nov. 15 and features a 12-game non-conference schedule that includes three NCAA Tournament squads, as many as seven games against fellow postseason teams from 2013-14 and a fourth-straight invite to the annual Maggie Dixon Classic held at Madison Square Garden, where the Red Storm will face defending national champion Connecticut.
The non-conference schedule features one first-time opponent and a conference breakdown that includes three games against the American Athletic Conference, two games against the SEC and one each against the American East, Great West, Ivy League, MAAC, NEC and Patriot League conferences.
"One of the trademarks of our program is that we will always test ourselves early with a challenging non-conference schedule," said Red Storm head coach Joe Tartamella. "We feel we have done that this year as we will face SEC powers Florida and Auburn at home as well as some very challenging road games as we travel to Marist and South Florida. For the fourth-consecutive year we will also have the opportunity to play at Madison Square Garden in the Maggie Dixon Classic as we face the defending National Champion UConn Huskies. Our fans, alumni base and prospective student-athletes will be excited about the competitive schedule we have put together to prepare us for the rigors of the BIG EAST."
For the second year in a row, St. John's will open its campaign on the road with a first-time opponent, as the Red Storm travels to New Haven, Conn., on Saturday, Nov. 15 to take on Yale. Entering her 10th season as Yale head coach, Chris Gobrecht led the Bulldogs to 13-15 overall mark last season, good for fourth place in the final Ivy League standings.
Thursday, Nov. 20 will mark the 2014-15 home-opener, as the Red Storm welcomes SEC contender Florida to Carnesecca Arena. The Gators advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round a year ago after featuring in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, and got the best of the Red Storm, 72-68, in last season's regular season meeting in Gainesville on Nov. 26.
Four days later, St. John's faces another 2014 NCAA Tournament team in MAAC power Marist, winner of 11-consecutive conference regular season titles. The Red Storm and Red Foxes last met on Nov. 12, 2010, a 64-50 neutral-site victory for St. John's.
The Red Storm will be home for the next two games, hosting Empire State opponents Binghamton and Wagner two days apart on Friday, Nov. 28, and Sunday, Nov. 30, respectively. St. John's and Binghamton have played twice before, the last meeting resulting in a 73-72 overtime victory for the Red Storm. Wagner is coming off a 9-21 campaign that ended in the first round of the NEC Tournament, while St. John's has lost only once in 14 all-time meetings in the series.
On Sunday, Dec. 7, the Red Storm heads to the Sunshine State to rekindle a familiar rivalry with old BIG EAST foe USF. In their first season in the American Athletic Conference, the Bulls finished with a 23-13 overall record and 13-5 conference mark, appearing in the AAC Tournament and WNIT semifinals. St. John's is 6-2 all-time against USF.
A five-game homestand then follows for the Red Storm, starting with a pair of second-ever clashes with UCF and NJIT, both beaten in their first-ever meetings with St. John's. UCF is set to enter Carnesecca Arena on Thursday, Dec. 11, after seeing its 2013-14 campaign end in the first round of the AAC Tournament, while NJIT travels to Queens on Sunday, Dec. 14, on the back of an 8-21 campaign a year ago.
In mid-December, the Red Storm will host its seventh-annual Chartwells Holiday Classic, featuring Auburn, SMU and Indiana State. St. John's will play the Tigers, WNIT quarterfinalists last season, in the first game on Saturday, Dec. 20, looking to avenge a 69-55 loss at Auburn last December. SMU will play Indiana State in the second game of the doubleheader in a meeting of 2013-14 WNIT participants. On Sunday, Dec. 21, winners of Saturday's doubleheader will play in the 2:30 p.m. championship game. The consolation round will precede the championship at noon.
St. John's will finish up non-conference play by ushering in the New Year with its fourth-straight appearance in the Maggie Dixon Classic on Sunday, Jan. 4, taking on former BIG EAST foe and 2014 NCAA Champion UConn. The Red Storm and Huskies last met on Feb. 2, 2013, with then-No. 3 UConn escaping Carnesecca with a hard-fought 71-65 victory.
In addition to the non-conference schedule, St. John's will play home-and-home series against each of the nine other BIG EAST teams: Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier.
In 2013-14, Tartamella guided St. John's to its fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament while seeing the program advance to its fourth BIG EAST Tournament Final, claim a program-best 11-straight conference wins and secure its 14th 20-win campaign, its fourth in the past five seasons and first under Tartamella. In 2014-15, the Red Storm returns seven letterwinners and adds four newcomers to the court, looking to remain one of the top teams in the country.
Season tickets are on sale now for just $65. Season ticket members receive exclusive benefits, including significant savings off the individual game price, priority on post-season tickets and an Under Armour duffle bag just for signing up! Call 1-888-GO-STORM to order your season tickets now or visit RedStormTix.com for more information.
