Better late than never for St. John's?

For St. John's women, the good news was that they got to work the Big Room - Madison Square Garden - Wednesday night. The not-so-good news was that they got second billing, and very late.

And, maybe worse news: They had to play college basketball's steamroller, UConn, which has been no kinder to St. John's than any other opponent. Though its record 90-game win streak against all-comers was ended by Stanford two weeks ago, UConn brought its 54-game unbeaten string against Big East opponents to the Garden, and a 26-game run of consecutive victories against St. John's dating to early 1993.

Still, as St. John's coach Kim Barnes Arico said, "The opportunity for our young ladies to play at the World's Most Famous Arena is an honor. It's an adjustment, though. A big arena, the baskets are different, we're not used to playing there.

"Another thing is the snow" and it's chilling effect on the size of the crowd. "But for our kids, it doesn't matter if there's anybody at the game. Just to say to the rest of the world that they played in Madison Square Garden is special."

It is a result of the scheduling squeeze in the Big East, which regularly uses well-booked professional-team arenas and gives priority to men's teams, that the best window for St. John's women at the Garden was a targeted 9:30 p.m. start. (Or later, if the first game of the doubleheader, matching the men of St. John's and Syracuse, didn't proceed apace.)

"I'm a mother of three," Barnes Arico said. "That's my bedtime."

She had coffee at her disposal, and the knowledge that her players "are used to being up a little later than I am." The fact that St. John's women, who first played at the Garden in 2003, had won six of seven games on their second "home" court was tempered by the realization that the only loss was to UConn - in 2007.

Besides, UConn never had lost in three previous Garden appearances. And Barnes Arico's roster has been a bit thin. Injuries and foul trouble forced St. John's to finish its Dec. 18 victory over Southern Mississippi with only four players on the court during the last two minutes. Sophomore point guard Nadirah McKenith has been limited by a foot injury.

Furthermore, a three-game losing streak was weighing a bit on St. John's (12-4, 1-2 and ranked 22nd in the country). UConn (14-1, 4-0, No. 2) guaranteed another rough ride.

But then, St. John's senior Centhya "Coco'' Hart noted that she had recently been to the Garden - "for a rodeo, a whole different scene" - and figured there could be no avoiding the venue's excitement.