March 16, 2015

Patriot League Women's Basketball Postseason Preview 

WNIT Bracket 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Army, the 2014 Patriot League Champion and 2015 regular season runnerup, will face St. John's in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament, the organization announced tonight.

The Red Storm will host the game on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y.

This is the fourth postseason appearance for the Black Knights and second in the WNIT. Army lost 55-46 to Fordham in the 2013 WNIT field. The Black Knights were the Patriot League automatic qualifier for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in 2006 and 2014.

The Black Knights come into the contest with a 23-7 overall record and went 14-4 to finish second in the standings to American. Army defeated seventh-seed Colgate in the quarterfinal round of the postseason tournament before falling to Lehigh in the semifinals.

Army joins American as the only Patriot League program to make the WNIT field on more than one occasion. The Eagles have been participants five times and Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lehigh and Navy have gone one time apiece. American and Navy both lost in the WNIT first round in 2014.

The Army-St. John's winner will face either Fordham or Central Connecticut State in the second round. The Rams and Blue Devils will play at Fordham on Thursday, with the time of the game to be announced.

St. John's finished as the fourth seed for the Big East Tournament with an 11-7 conference record and lost to Seton Hall in the semifinal round of their postseason tournament on March 9. The Red Storm's overall record is 21-10 after starting the season 10-0 and winning 12 of their first 13 games.

The two teams have met 12 times, with the Red Storm winning eight of those contests -- including a 61-54 victory in their last meeting on Nov. 25, 2008. The last Army win in the series was 57-45 on Nov. 19, 2006.

View the full WNIT Bracket.

2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament

First Round ~ Thursday, March 19 ~ Carnesecca Arena / Queens, N.Y.

Army Black Knights (23-7, 14-4 PL) at St. John's Red Storm (21-10, 11-7 Big East), 7 p.m. ET
History: St. John's leads all-time series 12-8 ~ Last meeting: St. John's 61-54 (11.25.2008)

Army, an automatic qualifier from the Patriot League, and St. John's, an at-large selection from the Big East will meet Thursday night in the opening round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament, it was announced on Monday. The Red Storm will host Army at Carnesecca Arena at 7 p.m. in Queens, N.Y. The two teams have met on 12 previous occasions, most recently in 2008, with St. John's winning eight times. The winner of the Army-St.John's contest will face the Fordham-Central Connecticut winner in the second round.

Army The defending Patriot League champion and preseason favorite Black Knights started the regular season 1-3, but found their way and ripped off an 11-game winning streak and finished as the No. 2 seed in the postseason tournament. Army reached the semifinal round of the postseason tournament with a win over Colgate, but was knocked off by visiting Lehigh.

Army is led by an All-Patriot League first team selection in junior guard Kelsey Minato, the 8th leading scorer in the NCAA at 22.4 points per game and senior forward Olivia Schretzman (9.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg), a third team All-Patriot League performer.

This is the fourth overall postseason appearance for the Black Knights, who were the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and 2014 and lost to Fordham 55-46 in the 2013 WNIT first round. Army has defeated St. John's four times in 12 meetings, most recently 57-46 on Nov. 19, 2006.

Probable starters: Jr. G Kelsey Minato (22.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg), Sr. F Olivia Schretzman (9.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Jr. F Aimee Oertner (8.3 ppg, 2.1 bpg), Jr. G Jean Parker (6.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg), Fr. G Daizjah Morris (4.5 ppg, 1.3 spg).

Key reserves: So. F Dani Failor, Fr. G Destinee Morris, Sr. G Jordan Elliott.

St. John's The Red Storm were an at-large choice for the Women's National Invitation Tournament following a 21-10 season that included an 11-7 mark in the Big East. St. John's opened the regular season with 10 straight wins and 12 of its first 13. That early stretch included a win over NCAA Tournament qualifier Seton Hall and a near miss against Big East Champion DePaul in an overtime loss in mid-January.

St. John's is led by junior guard Aliyyah Handford, who was named to the Big East Conference first team and All-Tournament team. The Newark, N.J. native ranked second in the league and 24th in the nation in scoring at 20.2 points per game and also contributes 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 steals per outing. Junior guard Danaejah Grant was named to the second team and averaged 17.1 points per game in her second season after transferring from Clemson. Senior forward Amber Thompson is the biggest post threat at 6.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

Probable starters: Jr. G Aliyyah Handford (20.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Jr. G Danaejah Grant (17.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Sr. F Amber Thompson (6.9 ppg, 10.8 rpg), So. F Jade Walker (8.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg), So. G Aaliyah Lewis (5.8 ppg, 4.3 apg).

Key reserves: Fr. G Crystal Simmons, Fr. F Tonoia Wade, Gr. F Kyra Dunn, Fr. F Imani Littleton.