When St. John's ended Connecticut's 99-game home winning streak earlier this season, it sent shock waves through women's college basketball.
Even the nation's most prominent hoops fan took notice.
Picked by President Barack Obama to reach the Final Four, the third-seeded Red Storm will begin their NCAA tournament run Sunday against No. 14 seed Creighton in Norman, Okla.
St. John's (22-9) has never reached the Final Four, but this team may be poised to break through. Its most notable victory was a stunning 57-56 win at UConn on Feb. 18.
The Red Storm enter as winners of nine of 10, with Obama calling them his "dark horse" and picking them to upset second-seeded Duke and No. 1 Stanford en route to the Final Four.
The challenge first for St. John's is to reach a possible matchup with the Blue Devils after losing in the second round the past two years. The Red Storm are 4-6 all-time in the tournament heading into their seventh appearance.
"It's postseason now," senior forward Da'Shena Stevens said. "Any game you can lose and any game could be your last game. You just have to leave it all out on the floor."
St. John's and Creighton (20-12) have met once previously, with the Bluejays winning 72-68 on Nov. 28, 1997. Creighton is making its fourth NCAA appearance, having won two of five previous games.
Both teams are known for defense. St. John's limited opponents to 55.1 points per game while Creighton led the Missouri Valley Conference by yielding an average of 56.6, and limited opponents to an average of 43.7 in three games to capture the conference tournament.
"It's just about who has the most heart and toughness," Bluejays top scorer Carli Tritz said. "We are playing great defense right now."
While the Red Storm have four players with double-figure scoring averages, Tritz (14.5 ppg) and Sarah Nelson (12.6) are the only such players for the Bluejays.
"I know they are an extremely disciplined team," St. John's coach Kim Arico Barnes said. "They shoot the ball extremely well. They have two big-time scorers in Sarah Nelson and Carli Tritz. They are very crafty. They know how to play."
Creighton could be overmatched in its second game this season against a Big East team. The Bluejays trailed 30-3 at home Dec. 4 en route to a 76-48 loss to then-No. 3 Notre Dame.
"I know St. John's is a Big East team too," Nelson said. "I think that experience alone shows us that we have to go into the game knowing we can compete with everyone."
Bluejays coach Jim Flanery said Saturday that Red Storm point guard Nadirah McKenith will be his team's toughest matchup. In turn, St. John's has prepared McKenith for Creighton's pressure defense.
"The game plan for most teams is to try to take Nadirah McKenith out of the game," Arico Barnes said.
The winner will play No. 6 seed Oklahoma or No. 11 Michigan in Tuesday's second round.
