Da'Shena Stevens' injury will make for tough start for SJU women
St. John's University's Da'Shena Stevens at St. John's Women's basketball team media day. (Nov. 4, 2011) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
With two straight NCAA Tournament appearances -- three in six seasons -- under its belt and another preseason national ranking, St. John's is poised to move up a notch on the national ladder.
Taking the next step this season won't be easy for the No. 25 Red Storm, which will be without senior forward Da'Shena Stevens (knee) for at least a month.
"They're figuring out a way to play without Da'Shena,'' St. John's coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "We always talked about how we were small and undersized. Now we're even smaller and more undersized.''
Not having Stevens will hurt with teams such as Baylor and Iowa and a possible matchup with defending national champion Texas A&M or Temple on the non-conference schedule.
"Our non-conference schedule is a bad curse word,'' Barnes Arico said. "Even the teams we are playing in lesser leagues are teams that are tough. Playing Boston University, Hartford, Hofstra, St. Bonaventure, Iowa without our best player will make things tough.''
Barnes Arico is counting on junior guard Shenneika Smith, the Red Storm's top scorer last season, to be the anchor.
"It's definitely going to be tough. [Stevens has] been our leader for so long,'' Smith said. "Now that she's out, we just have to support one another and do a little more.''
Other key returnees from last season's 22-11 team include junior point guard Nadirah McKenith, North Babylon graduate Eugeneia McPherson and Delaware transfer and Dix Hills product Tesia Harris, the older sister of Tobias.
"I think as a whole the team has picked up that I won't be playing with them for a while and they have all fed off that," Stevens said. "I definitely have confidence in them."
With no player over 6-3 on the roster and Stevens out, battling the likes of Baylor's All-American center, 6-8 Brittney Griner, could take its toll.
"It's going to be interesting to see if we can rebound with other teams,'' Barnes Arico said. "But we have a lot of good athletes. We can still run. Hopefully, we can use our speed, experience and athleticism to our advantage.''
