Watch Free Video Preview From The Red Storm

QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's women's basketball team will continue its 2007-08 campaign when it hosts Iona on Monday at 7 p.m. in the second round of the 2008 Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Red Storm earned an at-large bid and clinched a first-round bye. The WNIT appearance is the second all-time for St. John's (16-14).

Tickets to the event are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Fans can purchase tickets at the Carnesecca Arena Ticket Office on game day. Gates open on Monday at 6 p.m. All tickets are general admission seating. The game will feature a St. John's rally towel giveaway.

The game will feature live stats and will have video and audio streamed on the internet. Fans can go to RedStormSports.com to access both features, which are free. Ralph Bednarcyzk will be providing the play-by-play while Eugene Lawrence will be handling the color analysis.

Iona (20-13) is coming off a 71-59 win over Quinnipiac on Wednesday in the first round of the WNIT to advance to play St. John's. The Gaels automatically qualified for the WNIT when it finished second to MAAC Champion Marist. The postseason appearance is the second all-time for Iona.

Monday night's contest between the Gaels and the Red Storm marks the 13th meeting all-time between the schools. St. John's has a commanding lead in the series, 10-2. However, it was Iona that prevailed in the last meeting, 66-56, at Carnesecca Arena on Nov. 9, 2006 during the first round of the 2006 Preseason WNIT. St. John's boasts a 5-1 slate at home against the Gaels.

The Red Storm's 2004-05 appearance in the WNIT was its only other showing in the postseason tournament, and the team posted a 1-1 record. St. John's opened up the WNIT strong with a 48-42 victory over Delaware on March 17, 2005, before losing to eventual runner-up West Virginia, 68-63, on March 21, 2005.

Under head coach Kim Barnes Arico's guidance, the Red Storm has made it to three postseason tournaments. St. John's was selected to the WNIT for the first time in 2005 and advanced to the second round. The Red Storm followed that performance with a second round appearance in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, which was the team's first NCAA appearance in over 17 years. Barnes Arico is the first Red Storm coach in over 20 years to guide her team to multiple postseason appearances.

St. John's closed out the 2007-08 regular season strong and battled its way to a No. 10 seed in the BIG EAST Championship Tournament. The team won four of its last six contests, including an upset of then-No. 9 Notre Dame, 61-51, in the Red Storm's regular season finale on March 3. The win over the Fighting Irish was the second-straight upset for the Red Storm against its league foe at home. St. John's is coming off a 63-47 loss to Louisville on March 8 in the first round of the conference tournament.

The Red Storm is one of four BIG EAST teams selected to the field of 48 for the WNIT, joining Marquette, USF and Villanova. In addition, the league has eight teams playing in the NCAA Tournament. The 12 BIG EAST member institutions playing in postseason games is the most the league has ever had and is the most of any Division I conference.