All-BIG EAST Awards
NEW YORK – With the BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Championship presented by Jeep getting under way on Thursday, the league’s annual awards were announced on Wednesday. Regular-season champion and tournament top seed Denver earned the lion’s share, taking home four of the six major awards and 11 total All-BIG EAST certificates. The Pioneers, led by head coach Liza Kelly, were unanimously selected as BIG EAST Coaching staff of the Year, while senior Katherine Fischer was also an uncontested pick as Defensive Player of the Year. Sophomore Quintin Hoch-Bullen was named BIG EAST Attacker of the Year, while junior Carson Gregg was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Year. Additionally, Marquette senior Grace Gabriel and Georgetown senior Francesca Whitehurst were voted Co-Midfielders of the Year, while Marquette attacker Shea Garcia was selected Freshman of the Year.
A total of 33 student-athletes earned All-BIG EAST honors, including 17 first-team selections and 16 second-team honorees. Denver led the way with 11 total picks, including seven first-team nods led by unanimous selections Fischer, Hoch-Bullen and Elizabeth Behrins. Tournament No. 3 seed Georgetown followed with nine All-BIG EAST players, including unanimous first team picks Whitehurst, Taylor Gebhardt and Katie Hudson. All-BIG EAST First Team unanimous honoree Gabriel led three top-team selections for Marquette, while fellow BIG EAST Championship contender Villanova also placed three on the first team. The Hoyas totaled nine All-BIG EAST honorees, the Wildcats followed with six, Golden Eagles with five and Old Dominion with two.
No. 15/13 Denver posted the 15
th unbeaten (5-0) season in BIG EAST history to claim its first regular-season title. The Pioneers enter the postseason 13-2 overall with four top-25 wins. DU leads the nation in scoring defense (6.67) with only three of 15 opponents scoring in double figures. The Pios are also No. 1 in the NCAA in assists (9.33) as their scoring offense is also among the most potent in the country with a BIG EAST-best 14.87 goals per game. Kelly, in her 13
th season, and Denver garner BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors for the first time.
Fischer led the nation’s top-ranked defense which owns Division I’s top scoring average and third-best scoring margin (8.2). The senior ranks among the national leaders in caused turnovers (1.87), while ranking fifth in the BIG EAST with 2.07 ground balls per game. The Pioneers held BIG EAST opponents to 6.80 goals per game, with only one scoring in double figures.
Gregg was the stingy last line of defense for Denver. The junior leads the nation in goals against average (7.3) and leads the BIG EAST in save percentage (.468). She is 11-1 on the season and has collected 29 ground balls. The two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week has clocked nearly 691 minutes of play this year and faced 241 shots.
Over 15 games this season, Hoch-Bullen has 45 goals for a 3.00 average to rank third in the BIG EAST, while her 3.73 points per game clip lists second. Of her 84 shots taken, 67 have landed on target for a .798 shot on goal percentage. Hoch-Bullen enters the postseason with a team-high 56 points, including nine goals off free position attempts.
Gabriel repeats as top middie after leading the BIG EAST in goals (56, 3.29 per game), game-winning goals (three), and shots (141, 8.29 per game), while ranking second in draw controls (111, 6.53 per game) and third in points (3.65 per game). The five-time BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week added 22 caused turnovers and 32 ground balls over 17 games, leading Marquette to its first top-25 win in program history and its highest seeding (No. 2) in the BIG EAST Championship.
Whitehurst earns her second top midfielder nod after claiming the honor in 2017. After missing most of last season due to injury, the senior returned to lead Georgetown with 58 points off 32 goals and 26 assists, 61 draw controls, 25 ground balls and eight caused turnovers. The four-time BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week led the Hoyas to their 13
th consecutive BIG EAST Championship berth and 19
th winning season in conference play.
Garcia becomes the first Freshman of the Year out of Marquette. The rookie attacker has totaled 37 points off 29 goals and eight assists, 16 ground balls and four caused turnovers. She’s taken 63 shots on the year, 54 of which have landed on target for an .857 shot on goal percentage. Garcia was tabbed BIG EAST Freshman of the Week four times in 2019.
Awards and all-league selections are based on a vote of the conference’s head coaches who are not allowed to vote for their own players. The 2019 BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Championship presented by Jeep gets under way on Thursday when top-seeded Denver faces fourth-seeded Villanova at 3 p.m. CT, followed by second-seeded Marquette against third-seeded Georgetown at 6 p.m. CT. Winners advance to Saturday’s final, set for 1:30 p.m. CT. All three games will be played at the Golden Eagles’ Valley Fields in Milwaukee, Wis., with the BIG EAST Digital Network streaming the semifinals before FS2 takes over for the title game.