NEW YORK – Three days after claiming a share of the BIG EAST regular-season title for the first time, Marquette women’s basketball continued to roll as the Golden Eagles took home a pair of major awards on Wednesday. Junior guard Allazia Blockton was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, becoming the first Golden Eagle to earn the honor, while fourth-year head coach Carolyn Kieger was voted BIG EAST Co-Coach of the Year for the first time. Kieger shared the honor with Villanova’s Harry Perretta, who earned the certificate for the fourth time. Qadashah Hoppie of St. John’s was voted BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.
Additionally, Georgetown earned a pair of honors in junior guard Dionna White, who was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, and senior forward Cynthia Petke, who was tabbed Most Improved Player. Senior guard Lauren Prochaska represented co-regular-season champion DePaul on the major awards list by earning the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award, while Villanova sophomore forward Mary Gedaka was unanimously selected the recipient of the Sixth-Woman Award.
Blockton was named BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday, becoming just the seventh player in Conference history to earn Scholar-Athlete and Player of the Year accolades in the same season. Previous dual-winners include Maya Moore, Ruth Riley, Jennifer Rizzotti and Rebecca Lobo. DePaul’s Brooke Schulte and Brittany Hrynko achieved the feat in 2017 and 2015, respectively.
Blockton became the first Marquette player to win the BIG EAST’s scoring title, averaging 19.2 points over 18 league contests. The junior drained nearly 55 percent of her shots from the field to rank third in the conference in the category and tops among guards. Over 29 games this season, Blockton has five double-doubles and a BIG EAST-leading 13 20-point games.
Kieger led Marquette to its first BIG EAST regular-season title since joining the league in 2005-06, and its first back-to-back 20-win campaigns since 2006-08. The Golden Eagles finished BIG EAST play 15-3 for their most wins in BIG EAST history, and show a 21-8 overall record, entering the postseason on a six-game winning streak.
In his 40
th season on the sidelines at Villanova, Perretta led the Wildcats to their sixth consecutive 20-win season as they enter the postseason with a 22-7 overall record and finished BIG EAST play 12-6. Over 29 games, Villanova boasts the top defensive scoring average in the conference, holding opponents to just 59.2 points per game, limiting 19 foes to 60 points or less and seven to 50 or less.
Hoppie finished BIG EAST play as the top-scoring rookie, averaging 11.1 points per game to rank second on St. John’s. The four-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week led the Red Storm in scoring eight times this season despite coming off the bench in 18 of 29 games. She enters the postseason with a 10.8 overall scoring average. Hoppie is the third BIG EAST Freshman of the Year out of St. John’s, joining Da’Shena Stevens (2009) and Ann Mari McNamee (1983).
White leads a stingy Georgetown defense with the top steals average in the BIG EAST, both overall (2.9) and in conference play (2.7). Her 81 total steals this season rank 19
th nationally, while her career average of 2.92 steals per game is seventh best in Division I. White also finished second in the BIG EAST in scoring (19.1) to be one of the top two-way players in the league.
Petke averaged 4.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in 2016-17 before bumping her numbers to 13.4 points, 10.4 rebounds in 2017-18. Petke’s 17 double-doubles this season rank ninth nationally while her 20 double-digit rebounding performances are tops in the BIG EAST. She was named BIG EAST Player of the Week twice this season, helping the Hoyas to wins over three of the top-four teams in the conference standings, including both co-champions. Petke is Georgetown’s first Most Improved Award recipient.
Prochaska is the consummate role player for DePaul, seeing action in all 30 games and earning four starts. She ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in assists (3.1) and third in assist-turnover ratio (2.5). The senior is enrolled in the College of Health Sciences and boasts the top grade point average on the squad, while earning BIG EAST All-Academic Team honors in each of her first three seasons in Chicago. Prochaska is also active in the community, participating in the likes of the DemonTHON charity dance marathon, Misericordia children’s home Candy Days, Seton Soup Kitchen and motivational talks to elementary school students. Prochaska is the fifth DePaul player to earn the Sportsmanship Award.
Gedaka has come off the bench in all but one game this season for Villanova but ranks second in the squad in scoring at 11.6 per game, including 12.4 in 18 BIG EAST contests. She’s led the Wildcats in scoring seven times this season, including 21 points in Sunday’s win over Creighton to clinch the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. The sophomore forward boasts the top shooting clip in the conference, both overall (.603) and in league play (.583). Gedaka was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll four times this year. She becomes the fifth Sixth-Woman Award recipient out of Villanova. Gedaka was the lone unanimously selected major award winner this season.
BIG EAST Player of the Year
Allazia Blockton, Marquette, Jr., G
BIG EAST Co-Coaches of the Year
Harry Perretta, Villanova
Carolyn Kieger, Marquette
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Qadashah Hoppie, St. John’s, Fr., G
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Dionna White, Georgetown, Jr., G
BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Cynthia Petke, Georgetown, Sr., F
BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Lauren Prochaska, DePaul, Sr., G
BIG EAST Sixth-Woman Award
Mary Gedaka, Villanova, So., F*