February 21, 2012
In an upset that put St. John’s women’s basketball back in the
national rankings, the Red Storm beat No. 2-ranked Connecticut
57-56 on February 18.
The win helped move the
Red Storm to number 20 in the AP women’s basketball poll on
Monday while the Huskies slipped from second to fourth place. The
victory snapped UConn’s 99-game home winning streak.
St. John’s is now among only five teams to win at Storrs since
1993. The others are Rutgers, Tennessee, Georgia and Notre
Dame.
“I thought it was a great game . . . we really stepped up to the
challenge,” said Head Coach
Kim Barnes Arico. “I told the kids in the locker room
afterwards that they will always remember this.” Barnes Arico
became St. John’s “all-time winningest coach” on February 12, when
the Storm routed Rutgers 61-52.
Junior point guard
Nadirah McKenith was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on
Monday — her first conference title of the season. St. John’s was
trailing by two points when McKenith took the lane. She sent the
ball to junior guard
Shenneika Smith, who sunk a three-pointer with eight seconds
left on the clock.
The team
will host West Virginia at 7 p.m. tonight in
Carnesecca Arena on St. John’s Queens, NY, campus.
St. John’s men’s basketball team also is making news. The team
earned its
second win in a row on February 20 against DePaul, 79-72 — a
sweep of the regular-season series. They defeated UCLA 66-63 at
Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The team
welcomes Notre Dame to the Garden on Saturday, February 25. It
will be the final regular-season home game of the year.