By Joseph Staszewski
The changing Big East conference has tweaked the St. John’s University women’s basketball team’s goals this season.
The Red Storm will not only look to make their fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance, but also turn themselves into one of the top programs in the new look Big East with the departure of power teams like UConn, Notre Dame and Louisville.
St. John’s was picked to finish third by league coaches behind DePaul and Creighton. Among the elite teams is where it would like to remain.
“We want to make sure we are becoming the benchmark of the league and that we stay there,” St. John’s Coach Joe Tartamella said. “We want to be the program that people are aspiring to be.”
They will have to do so without two of its leaders and top scorers from the last four seasons with the graduation of guards Nadirah McKenith and Shenneika Smith. Both were selected in the WNBA draft and are playing professionally overseas. All of this year’s players will be asked to do a little bit more.
“Everyone has to step up,” sharpshooting senior guard Briana Brown said. “We have to fill that scoring.”
St. John’s, which went 18-13 last season, features a deep returning backcourt anchored by Brown, sophomore guard Aliyyah Hanford, an All-Big East first team selection and red-shirt senior Eugeneia McPherson, who garnered conference honorable mention honors. McPherson is returning from a torn ACL.
“She’s coming back strong, stronger than she was,” Handford said.
Handford, who averaged 9.4 points per game and 4.5 assists last season, was a big reason for St. John’s’ success in the second half of the year. The versatile guard will be looked to for leadership and increased scoring.
“She has that quiet confidence about her,” Tartamella said. “She makes things look easy, and as a coach, sometimes that’s hard because you want to get on a player.”
Keylantra Langley and Ashley Perez are also expected to contribute. Junior forward Amber Thompson should be an increased force in the paint and a lot is expected from freshmen point guard Aaliyah Lewis and wing Jade Walker.The Red Storm will also have two transfers available to play in December because of NCAA rules. A 6-foot-4 senior forward, Selina Archer (Miami), and Danaejah Grant from Clemson will only deepen the talent pool. Grant averaged 13.4 points per game during her six games for the Tigers.
“I think we have a great back court going on right now,” Brown said.
The challenge for Tartamella is making all those pieces mesh together toward the goal of continuing the program’s rise and fulfilling the expectations it set each season. This year comes with an added few.
“We are trying to win a conference championship and obviously get to the postseason,” Tartamella said. “This program has become a place that we want to get to the postseason and we want to stay there.”
