St. John's women ready to challenge top dogs
Coco Hart is one of the seniors on a young St. John's team that surprised everyone by going 25-7 last year. (Nov. 2, 2010) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
On Jan. 12 at Madison Square Garden, defending NCAA women's champion Connecticut will take the floor against St. John's, and Goliath might be in for trouble.
Last year, the freshman trio of Da'Shena Stevens, Shenneika Smith and Nadirah McKenith led the Red Storm - picked to finish 12th in the Big East - to fourth with a 25-7 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Florida State in overtime.
Coach Kim Barnes Arico's team returns that young core along with seniors Sky Lindsay and Coco Hart plus sophomore Eugeneia McPherson (5.2 points per game.) of North Babylon, who is expected to make a larger impact not only with improved scoring but as a defensive spark.
Barnes Arico describes Stevens (14.3 points, 7.6 rebounds), Smith (12.9, 5.3) and McKenith (7.7, 4.7) as "three of the best players in the country. Players like that have gone to UConn and Rutgers in the past, but now they're coming to St. John's."
Last season's performance already has attracted transfers Mary Nwachukwu from Boston College and Dix Hills' Tesia Harris from Delaware. They must sit out this season, but when they become eligible, it could put the Red Storm into national title contention.
"That's our goal," said Harris, whose brother Tobias is a highly recruited freshman at Tennessee and brother Tyler is a top high-school prospect.
This season's Red Storm already has achieved a first in school history with a top-25 preseason ranking. The No. 14 ranking is the highest in any poll for St. John's women.
"Last year proved we could beat the really good teams in our conference," Stevens said. "We need to bring that confidence and motivation to get over the hump of being one of the top teams . . . You always want to get to the top, and it's definitely within reach. Why sell yourself short?"
That Jan. 12 date is circled on the Red Storm's calendar. Facing UConn is a daunting task, but Barnes Arico welcomes it.
"Playing at the Garden is something our kids look forward to every year," Barnes Arico said. "We're pretty good in the Garden. Our only loss there is to UConn, and I'm hoping we can change that."
