By Marc Raimondi
On Sunday, Wright and the rest of the St. John's women's basketball played its fourth game all-time at Madison Square Garden, this time against No. 6 Connecticut. The senior guard certainly had a vested interest in the game. Wright, a preseason All-Big East selection, originally went to UConn out of Copiague (L.I.) HS, but transferred before she ever attended a class – the Storrs environment just wasn't for her. It was all set to be a great day for Wright, who scored her 1,000th point in the first half and announced she would be coming back for her final year of eligibility. The only thing missing was the result: St. John's lost to UConn, 84-63. If it happened last season – the Red Storm won 22 games, was ranked in the top-25 and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament – the result could have been different. “We would have won,” Wright said curtly. This year has been a struggle for her, as well as St. John's (5-12, 1-5 Big East). Wright missed seven games with various injuries, the biggest a sports hernia she re-injured before Big East play began, and Angela Clark, the team's other All-Big East player, left for personal reasons. The Red Storm only suits up eight scholarship players because of injuries and lost three senior starters from last year's squad. “Our goal right now is to get to the Big East tournament,” Red Storm coach Kim Barnes Arico said. Mel Thomas, who hit five threes in the first half, led UConn (16-2, 6-0) with 19 points and there were three others in double figures: Renee Montgomery (15), Jamaica native Tina Charles (15) and Kalana Greene (14). Sophomore Monique McLean had 17 points and junior Tiina Sten added 14 for St. John's.
