St. John’s DaShena Stevens inducted into Connecticut Women’s Basketball HoF

On April 23, DaShena Stevens, a member of the St. John’s University Athletics Hall of Fame, received another honor, this one tied to her home state: She was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (CWBHOF) in recognition of her outstanding play at Trinity Catholic High School and with a nod to her incredible accomplishments with the Red Storm, scoring 1,515 points during her collegiate career.

“It was amazing,” said Stevens. “A lot of my family was there and some of my friends. It was a reunion in a sense. Then, being able to meet some of the individuals from the selection committee and others from the CWBHOF was exciting. 

“Both of my parents played high school basketball; they went to Stamford High School,” she added. “To have both of them there was excellent.” 

As a standout high school player, Stevens received a lot of attention, but always remained focused on team success. “From a playing standpoint, I had to play every single position—the one through five,” she recalled. “In college, I had my position, maybe a hybrid position, but in high school, I played them all. That was cool…also, keeping everyone involved and making sure it was still fun. These were all your best friends.” 

Coming into college, Stevens had insight into each position, which she said made her a better teammate. She was instrumental in making St. John’s a national presence, including being part of the Red Storm team that broke the University of Connecticut’s 99-game home court winning streak. She was excited to see St. John’s do it again this year. 

After graduating in 2012, Stevens played professionally, and eventually returned to St. John’s as assistant coach for three seasons before turning her attention to athletics administration. Today, she is the deputy director of athletics at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

In addition to the contingent of parents, sibling, uncles, cousins, and long-time friends, Stevens’s daughter Aria was in attendance. “As she’s getting older, I think she’s realizing that when everybody talks about me and basketball, they’re talking about me playing,” she said. “She said, ‘I think you were kind of good. Can you still play?’ 

“She’s starting to know that side of me,” Stevens added. “She Googled me the other day when we were at home. She saw all of my basketball pictures. That was a proud moment.”