St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Receives Votes in Preseason Poll
11/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
QUEENS, N.Y. - Widely regarded as one of the top programs in the NCAA following the team's eighth-straight postseason appearance a year ago, the St. John's Red Storm received 33 votes in the USA TODAY Sports Preseason Coaches Poll, it was announced last week.
The BIG EAST placed no teams inside the Associated Press Top 25 released this morning. Defending champion DePaul was the only team from the league to receive votes in the media poll.
The Red Storm is coming off its second-straight 23-11 season, a campaign that saw Joe Tartamella's squad reach the Third Round of the WNIT. Expectations are deservedly high for the upcoming season, as Aliyyah Handford, the reigning BIG EAST scoring champion, was named the conference's preseason player of the year and Danaejah Grant, who finished fourth in the league in scoring last year, was named to the preseason all-conference team.
The Red Storm also returns a core group of veterans and welcomes a group of talented newcomers. Juniors Jade Walker and Aaliyah Lewis started a combined 67 games last season, while redshirt junior Sandra Udobi will look to make an immediate contribution after missing last year with injury.
A contingent of second year players will also look to have breakout seasons, as Imani Littleton, Tamesha Alexander, Crystal Simmons and Kimberly Spruill look to help the Red Storm back to the NCAA Tournament.
Two rookies are also set to play a big role for the Red Storm during their freshmen seasons, as Jordan Agustus and Akina Wellere come to St. John's after high school careers that saw them ranked among the top 20 nationally at their positions by ESPN Hoopgurlz.
The Red Storm kicks off the 2015-16 season on Friday, Nov. 13, traveling to Westwood, Calif., for a contest with reigning WNIT Champion UCLA.
