Published: March 01, 2007
QUEENS, N.Y.
The 12th-seeded St. John’s University women’s basketball team
will face No. 5 seed Louisville Saturday at noon in the first round
of the 2007 BIG EAST Tournament, being played at the Hartford Civic
Center. The Red Storm earned its fourth-straight berth to the
conference championship and is looking for its second-straight
quarterfinal appearance. The game is part of the BIG EAST Regional
Television Package, and will air on SportsNet New York (SNY) in the
New York area with Brooke Weisbrod and John Rooke calling the
action. In addition, the BIG EAST will provide a variety of
coverage on www.bigeast.org,
including streaming broadcasts of each first round game.
Red Storm At The BIG EAST Tournament
• St. John’s has won three BIG EAST Championships (1983,
1984, 1988). That total ranks second among all league teams, behind
only Connecticut’s 13 tournament titles.
• In all games at the BIG EAST Tournament, St. John’s has
compiled a 17-19 record since the first championship in 1983.
• St. John’s has advanced to four-straight conference
championships under fifth-year head coach Kim Barnes
Arico. A win on Saturday would give the Red Storm its
second-straight quarterfinal appearance.
Red Storm At Last Year's BIG EAST
Tournament
• St. John’s entered the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament as the No.
4 seed and earned a first-round bye for the first time since
1991.
• The Red Storm was defeated by No. 12 seed West Virginia in
the first round, 55-49. Kia Wright led the team
with 14 points. The Mountaineers went on to make an appearance in
the title game before falling to Connecticut.
Saturday's Storylines
• St. John’s and No. 21/20 Louisville meet for the third time
Saturday and the first time at a neutral site. The Cardinals won
the regular-season meeting, 91-62, on Feb. 20 in Louisville, Ky.,
while St. John’s won last year’s meeting, 79-63, at Carnesecca
Arena on Feb. 15, 2006.
• St. John’s is coming off a tough 69-60 home loss at the
hands of No. 19/23 Marquette (Feb. 26), while Louisville suffered
an overtime loss to West Virginia in its last outing, 76-71.
• Kia Wright, a consensus preseason All-BIG
EAST selection and All-America candidate, has announced she will
return for her final year of eligibility in 2007-08. She scored her
1,000th point Jan. 21 vs. UConn and now has 1,172 for her
career. Currently in 10th place on St. John’s all-time
scoring chart, she needs 19 points to surpass Kerry Karst’s
(1979-82) total of 1,190 and move into ninth place.
Right Place, Wright Time
• A senior, Wright has been a keystone player for the Red
Storm program, and has made a huge impact since returning to lineup
after missing six games in December with a sports hernia. The
playmaking point guard leads the BIG EAST in assists (5.67 per
game) while averaging 14.3 points per game.
• One of the top recruits from the Long Island, N.Y., area out
of high school, Wright initially signed with Connecticut before
transferring to St. John’s.
• Already one of the most celebrated players in Red Storm
history, Wright added another bullet to her resume prior to the
2006-07 season: trying out for the Under-20 USA Basketball
Team.
Much-Improved McLean
• With Wright back in the lineup and running the offense,
sophomore Monique McLean has been free to move
back to her natural shooting guard position and is now averaging
16.2 points per game. The team’s leading scorer, she has notched
four double-doubles and four 20+ point efforts in 22 starts. The
Newport News, Va., native has proven herself as one of the most
improved players in the league since returning from preseason knee
surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Last season, the rookie averaged
just 7.0 points and less than 2.5 rebounds (this year up to 16.2
ppg and 6.4 rpg).
• McLean is currently on a 17-game double-figure scoring
streak, which is tied for tops in the BIG EAST.
Fast Breaks
• LAST OUTING ... St. John’s was defeated in
its regular-season finale by Marquette, 69-60. Kia Wright led all
scorers with 23 points.
• BACK-TO-BACK ... On Jan. 27 at Villanova
and Jan. 30 vs. DePaul, the Red Storm strung together back-to-back
victories for the first time this season. In the two wins, McLean
averaged 18.5 points per game, and Wright added 16.0 ppg and an
impressive 6.5 assists per game.
• UPSET OF NO. 23 PITTSBURGH FOR FIRST ‘BIG’
WIN ... St. John’s knocked off No. 23 Pittsburgh at the
Petersen Events Center (Jan. 13), 76-69, for its first BIG EAST
Conference victory of the year. The Red Storm got tremendous
efforts from Wright (23 points, 10 assists) and Angel Tate (17
points, 9 rebounds). The Pitt victory began a stretch of five games
in which the Red Storm won three games.
• PLAYING THE BEST ... St. John’s has
faced five opponents that have been ranked in one or both national
polls this season (Marquette twice, Louisville twice, Pittsburgh,
North Carolina, Connecticut) and two that have been receiving votes
(South Florida, DePaul).
• TATE STEPPING UP ... Angel Tate has
increased her productivity in her second year, averaging 9.4 points
and 7.7 rebounds per game (up from 1.7 ppg and 1.3 rpg in 2005-06).
In the BIG EAST opener against Syracuse (Dec. 7), Tate set a
career-high with 15 rebounds. She leads the team with four
double-doubles.
• JOYFUL, JOYFUL ... The rookie who has made
the biggest impact with the Red Storm so far in 2006-07 is Joy
McCorvey, a 6-0 forward out of Brewton, Ala. She has started 25 of
the Red Storm’s 27 games (the most of any STJ freshman) and
regularly has had to battle down low with players taller than her.
She averages 6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She has notched
three double-doubles, including a 10-point, 12-rebound performance
Feb. 20 at Louisville.
• MITCHELL MAKES RED STORM DEBUT ... Recee
Mitchell, a 6-1 center out of Tyler, Texas, played in her first
collegiate game on Dec. 17 against Boston University. Returning
from preseason shoulder surgery, Mitchell played 19 minutes and
scored 15 points. A physical presence with a knack for getting to
the free throw line, she was 7-for-10 from the charity stripe
against the Terriers while adding four rebounds and a steal.
• WALK IT OUT ... Charisse Curtis, a guard
from Silver Spring, Md., walked on to the Red Storm women’ s
basketball team and has proven to be a valuable asset. Plagued by
injuries early in the year, St. John’s began the season with just
six healthy scholarship players. Curtis stepped in and has started
three games. She averages 13.9 minutes per game and is shooting an
impressive 43.8 percent (14-32) from behind the 3-point line.
Last Time Out: No. 19/19 Marquette 69, St. John's
60
• Kia Wright's game-high 23 points effort was not
enough as the St. John's women's basketball team fell, 69-60, to
No. 19 Marquette in its BIG EAST regular season finale at
Carnesecca Arena. Despite the loss, the Red Storm (8-19, 4-12 BIG
EAST) still clinched a berth to the conference tournament, which
will be held at the Hartford Civic Center from March 3-6.
• Krystal Ellis scored a team-best 19 points to lead the
Golden Eagles (24-5, 12-4 BIG EAST), while Christina Quaye added 14
points. to a 69-60 victory over St. Johns Monday night.
• A free throw by Monique McLean got St. Johns within 10-9,
but Marquette used a 17-2 run behind Ellis' six points to take a
commanding 27-11 lead. Marquette went on to lead 31-17 at the end
of the first half.
• The Golden Eagles outscored the Red Storm 25-10 for a 56-37
lead – their largest of the game – in the second half on a free
throw by Kelly Lam. St. John's continued its attack, trying to
narrow the point gap, with an 11-3 run on efforts from Joy
McCorvey, Wright and Tiina Sten to put the score at 63-53.
• Wright brought the Red Storm within seven, 65-58, with 53
seconds left on the clock but foul trouble allowed the Golden
Eagles to answer back and widen the gap once again. In a last
minute effort to get points on the board, a layup from Angel Tate
brought the Red Storm within nine, 69-60.
• McLean added 14 points for St. John's, while Sten registered
11 points and freshman McCorvey had a game-high 11 rebounds.
McLean And Wright: BIG EAST Weekly Honor
Roll
• After scoring a career-high 32 points to help St. John’s to
a victory over Stony Brook on Dec. 30, 2006, Red Storm sophomore
guard Monique McLean was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll,
the conference announced on Jan. 2, 2007.
• Wright, meanwhile, was named to the list on Jan. 15, 2007,
after scoring 23 points and dishing out 10 assists on Jan. 13 in
the Red Storm’s upset of No. 23 Pittsburgh.
A Look At Louisville
• Louisville has an overall record of 24-6 (10-6 BIG EAST)
and earned the No. 5 seed at the conference championship. The
Cardinals are ranked No. 21/20 in the national polls.
• Angel McCoughtry leads her team and the league in scoring
(22.4 points per game) and rebounding (10.9 rebounds per
game).
• A No. 5 seed at last year’s tournament, Louisville was
upset by No. 12 West Virginia in the first round. Louisville’s head
coach is Tom Collen, he is in his third season.
Wright Nets 1,000th
• Kia Wrightbecame the 15th St. John’s player in history to
surpass the 1,000-point mark for her career on Jan. 21 vs. UConn.
The senior guard currently has 1,172 points.
• This year, Wright entered the St. John’s all-time Top 10
for assists, as she has 369 for her career and counting.