March 14, 2006

Women's college basketball seems to be on the upswing locally; St. John's, Hofstra and Stony Brook will be playing in postseason tournaments.

The Red Storm, which has posted consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since putting together four straight in the early 1980s, received a seventh seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play California in a first-round game Sunday.

Hofstra and Stony Brook, two "mid-majors" looking for an identity, received bids to play in the WNIT. In what appears to be an effort to maximize attendance and interest, Hofstra will host Stony Brook in a first-round game tomorrow night.

With such an abundance of talent on the high school level in the area, there's reason to believe the aforementioned programs eventually will make their presence felt even more strongly on the national stage.