St. John's University Athletics
Women's Basketball Releases 2014-15 Schedule
9/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. - With five-consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament under its belt, the St. John's women's basketball team will play another loaded schedule in 2014-15, a slate which was unveiled today in conjunction with the release of the BIG EAST schedule of games.
The Red Storm will take on five teams that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament, in addition to nine teams that found a spot in the WNIT in the Spring of 2014.
"This year's conference schedule proves once again why the BIG EAST continues to be one of the premier leagues in the nation," said head coach Joe Tartamella. "We have 18 games against some of the best competition that the NCAA has to offer.
"When you look at this grueling conference slate and then factor in our non-conference schedule featuring the likes of SEC powers Florida and Auburn, defending National Champion Connecticut in the World's Most Famous Arena, WNIT quarterfinalist USF and nine-time defending MAAC Champion Marist, I think 2014-15 will be a great test for St. John's Women's Basketball."
This season, the Red Storm will have an unprecedented five regular season games broadcast on national television, highlighted by a game against defending National Champion UConn on ESPN2.
"I think I speak for everyone in the St. John's family when I say that I'm thrilled to have five of our games featured on national TV this season, two of which will take place right here in Carnesecca Arena," commented Tartamella. "It will be an amazing opportunity to not only showcase the talents of our student athletes, but also to show the rest of the country what makes our university such a great place.
"In addition, we are also very fortunate to be on the forefront of digital broadcasting here at St. John's. We're one of only a handful of schools nationally that streams all our games in HD across outlets like FOX Sports GO and ESPN3, and that's something in which we take great pride."
Following the annual Tip-Off event on Friday, October 17, St. John's will officially begin its 2014-15 campaign at Yale on Saturday, November 15, taking on the Bulldogs in historic Payne-Whitney Gymnasium. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Red Storm and the Elis, who finished 13-15 last year.
After returning from New Haven, the Red Storm will open up its home slate with a contest against SEC power Florida on November 20. The Gators advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago and also got the best of St. John's during the regular season, a 72-68 win in Gainesville.
After hosting the Gators, it's back on the road for the Red Storm, although the trip will not be too far. Coach Tartamella's squad will travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a Monday evening match up against local power Marist on November 24. The Red Foxes, winners of nine-consecutive conference titles and 11-straight regular season MAAC championships, are 1-2 all-time against the Red Storm with their last meeting taking place in 2010.
The Red Storm will then host a pair of games over Thanksgiving weekend against Empire State opponents, welcoming Binghamton to Carnesecca Arena on Friday, November 28, and Wagner on Sunday, November 30. The Red Storm is 1-1 all-time against the Bearcats and 13-1 all-time against its neighbors from Staten Island in a series dating back to 1974-75, the first year of women's basketball at St. John's.
St. John's will kick off its conference slate when the schedule turns to December, hosting Xavier in Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday, December 3, at 7 p.m. The Red Storm and Musketeers split their home-and-home series last year during Xavier's first season in the BIG EAST.
The Red Storm return to non-conference play following its game with Xavier, traveling to Tampa for a December 7 showdown with USF, a team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT last year.
St. John's will then head back north and play host to a school from the Sunshine State, welcoming UCF to Carnesecca Arena on Thursday, December 11.
After breaking for final exams, the Red Storm will host the Seventh Annual St. John's Chartwells Holiday Classic, rounding out a field that includes Auburn, SMU and Indiana State. All three of these teams advanced to the WNIT last season, while Auburn made a run to the third round of the tournament.
Following the St. John's Chartwells Holiday Classic, it's back to BIG EAST play for the Red Storm, traveling to Providence on December 30 before hosting Seton Hall on January 2 on CBS Sports Network.
The crown jewel of the schedule awaits following those two games, as the Red Storm takes on defending National Champion UConn in the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden. This will mark the fourth-straight year that St. John's will play in the event remembering the legacy of former Army coach Maggie Dixon, who tragically passed away at the age of 28 in 2006. Last season, the Red Storm upended nationally-ranked Texas A&M in "The World's Most Famous Arena."
After taking on UConn, the Red Storm's schedule will feature nothing but BIG EAST contests, beginning with a January 9 match up with Butler in Carnesecca Arena. The game, which will begin at 8 p.m., will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1.
The Red Storm will then take the longest trip of their schedule, traveling to Omaha, Neb., for a January 11 game against Creighton. Last year, during the Bluejays first year in the BIG EAST, the two schools split a pair of decisions.
After Creighton, the Red Storm will host a pair of home games at Carnesecca Arena: DePaul on January 16 and Marquette on January 18. The Red Storm and Blue Demons met in last year's conference title game and were the only two members of the conference to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Marquette was one of the BIG EAST's five WNIT selections a year ago and also played level against the Red Storm, with each team taking a victory on the opponent's home floor.
St. John's will then begin the longest road swing of the season on January 23, traveling to our nation's capital for a showdown with Georgetown. The Red Storm will look to enact a little bit of revenge on the Hoyas, who ended its 11-game winning streak a season ago.
After Georgetown, the Red Storm will face off against Villanova two days later on January 25 in the City of Brotherly Love, before capping off the road swing with a game against Seton Hall in South Orange on the first day of February.
The following weekend, the Red Storm will welcome a pair of teams to Carnesecca Arena that they will have already visited, hosting Creighton on February 6 and Providence on February 8.
It's back on the road again for the Red Storm after the mini home stand, taking on Marquette in Milwaukee on February 13 before battling reigning conference champ DePaul in Chicago on February 15. Both of those game will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1.
The Red Storm will play its final home games of the 2014-15 season on February 20 and 22, welcoming the Villanova Wildcats to Carnesecca Arena on Friday before playing host to Georgetown on Sunday.
St. John's will then close out its regular season slate the following weekend by making one more Midwest swing for games against Butler on February 27 and Xavier on March 1.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, the BIG EAST Tournament will once again head to Chicagoland, as the conference invades Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., from March 7-10. Beginning with the semifinals, all games will be broadcast on either FOX Sports 1 or FOX Sports 2.
Season tickets are available now and are just $65 for a full-season package. For more information call 1-888-GOSTORM or visit RedStormTix.com.
