NEW YORK – With the 2020 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Jeep tipping off on Friday, the Conference announced its annual regular-season awards on Wednesday. Creighton redshirt-senior forward Jaylyn Agnew was selected BIG EAST Player of the Year, Marquette’s Megan Duffy was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year, while Villanova redshirt-freshman Maddy Siegrist was a unanimous choice for BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Major awards and All-BIG EAST Teams were selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches who were not allowed to vote for themselves or their own players.
Additional major award winners include: DePaul’s Chante Stonewall as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year; DePaul’s Sonya Morris as the Most Improved Player; St. John’s Leilani Correa as the Sixth-Woman Award recipient; and DePaul’s Kelly Campbell as the Sportsmanship Award winner. Five-member All-BIG EAST First Team, Second Team, Honorable Mention and All-Freshman Teams were also selected.
Agnew becomes the second Bluejay to earn top honors after Marissa Janning was tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2013-14. Agnew claimed the BIG EAST scoring title with the highest average (23.1) since Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry averaged 26.6 points per game in 2008-09. She most recently matched McCoughtry’s BIG EAST single-game scoring record with 43 points in Sunday’s regular-season finale against Georgetown, snapping a Creighton program record (42) which had been on the books since 1982. Agnew also broke the BIG EAST single-season record for free-throw percentage, going 43-of-43 (1.000) from the charity stripe over 14 league contests. She is the national leader in free-throw percentage as well, making nearly 95 percent of her attempts. A six-time BIG EAST Player of the Week in 2019-20, the redshirt-senior enters the postseason averaging 20.8 points per game overall with 13 20-point games to her credit, including a league-best four 30-point showings – most in the BIG EAST since 2014-15. Agnew was one of two unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selections along with DePaul’s Chante Stonewall.
Predicted to finish ninth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll, first-year Marquette head coach Megan Duffy inherited a team which graduated five 1,000-point scorers and graduated over 75 percent of its scoring. The Golden Eagles took everyone by surprise after finishing non-conference play 9-2 with its lone setbacks being single-digit losses to Mississippi State and Northwestern, which currently rank ninth and 11
th, respectively, in the Associated Press Poll. Marquette went on to finish alone in second place in the BIG EAST standings with a 13-5 record which included a season-finale win over No. 16 DePaul – the first top-25 win of the Duffy era. MU finished BIG EAST play with the second-best defensive scoring average (62.0) and was No. 1 in rebounding (margin and averages), field goal percentage (.450) and blocks (4.2).
Siegrist has been a standout from the start, leading the BIG EAST in scoring for much of the year before Agnew’s late push. She enters the postseason averaging 19.1 points per game overall to rank second in the conference, after finishing fifth in BIG EAST play with a 17.0 clip while leading the league with 9.3 rebounds per game. The two-time national freshman of the week was a 10-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week to match the conference record originally set by Connecticut’s Maya Moore in 2007-08. Siegrist has a BIG EAST-best 11 double-doubles and a league-high 14 20-point games. Among her many records broken this year were the Villanova freshman scoring record, both single-season points (553) and single-game (41), and BIG EAST freshman field goals attempted (290). Siegrist is just the second BIG EAST Freshman of the Year out of Villanova along with the legendary Shelly Pennefather (1983-84). She was also named to the All-BIG EAST First Team and was a unanimous BIG EAST All-Freshman Team pick.
Stonewall becomes the second BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year from DePaul, joining Jacqui Grant (2016-17). The senior forward enters the postseason ranked second overall among BIG EAST players with a 2.2 steals per game average, which included a 1.4 average in conference play. The Blue Demons averaged 10.3 steals per game over 18 conference contests to rank second. Stonewall’s lengthy inside presence altered countless shots, while the senior collected 5.4 rebounds per game, including 3.0 per game on the offensive glass in conference play to rank second. DePaul ranks among the national leaders in turnover margin (8.5, second) and turnovers forced (21.83, seventh), with many coming off the full-court press which Stonewall spearheads.
Morris becomes the third BIG EAST Most Improved Player out of DePaul. The sophomore nearly quadrupled her scoring average, both overall and in BIG EAST play, from a year ago. As a rookie in 2018-19, Morris averaged 4.9 points overall and 4.4 in BIG EAST action. In 2019-20, the sophomore ranks sixth in the BIG EAST with a 16.2 overall scoring average, while her conference clip of 15.7 ranks ninth among conference contenders. Both averages rank second on DePaul. Her rebounding averages jumped from 1.6 to 5.1 in BIG EAST play, while her assists nearly tripled from 0.9 to 2.6. She enters the postseason with 10 20-point games on the year, including a 30-point showing. Morris was also an All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree.
With a large supply of veteran guards on their roster, Correa has come off the bench in all but three games this season for St. John’s but has made an extraordinary impact. The rookie guard ranks second on the squad with 12.2 points per game, eclipsing the 30-point mark a staggering three times – the only freshman with more than one 30-point game. The four-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week averaged 10.4 points in conference play, helping St. John’s secure the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. Correa was a unanimous BIG EAST All-Freshman Team honoree.
Campbell is an exemplary student-athlete on and off the court. She is the national leader in assist-turnover ratio (5.9) and recorded her second career triple-double this season, while averaging 8.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists over 30 games played this year. A Senior CLASS Award candidate and Nancy Lieberman Award finalist, Campbell is equally impressive off the court. She is a regular volunteer at the St. Vincent de Paul Church food pantry and has spent time volunteering at orphanages in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. The Wall, N.J., native is also a three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team member. Campbell was recognized on the All-BIG EAST Second Team as well.
Joining Agnew, Siegirst and Stonewall on the All-BIG EAST First Team were Butler senior guard Kristen Spolyar and Villanova senior forward Mary Gedaka. In BIG EAST play, Spolyar ranked second in scoring at 18.1 points per game, while listing ninth in rebounding with a 7.0 clip. She enters the postseason with 11 20-point games to her credit, including two 30-point outbursts. Gedaka has been a workhorse for the shorthanded Wildcats, finishing third in BIG EAST play with a 17.6 scoring average while listing eighth in rebounding (7.2). She has 12 20-point games and six double-doubles on the year, while Gedaka and Spolyar each earned BIG EAST Player of the Week plaudits two times apiece.
Along with Morris and Campbell, the five-member All-BIG EAST Second Team included Marquette junior guard Selena Lott, St. John’s junior guard Qadashah Hoppie and Seton Hall senior forward Shadeen Samuels. Lott led the second-place Golden Eagles with a 15.0 scoring average, along with 4.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists. Her assists per game averages rank second in the BIG EAST and 12
th nationally. Over 29 games this season, Hoppie has a 16.0 scoring average, leading a St. John’s squad which is scoring at a program-record pace. Her three-point shooting clip of .396 ranks fourth in the BIG EAST while she makes 2.6 triples per game to list second. Samuels was the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year but was sidelined and slowed with injuries throughout the season. She has returned to her true form as of late, scoring in double figures in 11 of the last 12 games to average 17.2 points during that stretch towards a 14.3 season average. Samuels leads the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (.567) and offensive rebounding (3.4).
Three players garnered All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention recognition – Creighton junior guard Temi Carda, DePaul sophomore guard Lexi Held and Xavier junior forward A’riana Gray. Carda ranked second among Bluejays in scoring at 13.1 points, bumping that average to 14.8 in BIG EAST play to rank 12
th in the league. Over 29 games this season, Held ranks 10
th in the BIG EAST in scoring at 14.8 points per game – third on DePaul. Gray finished BIG EAST play ranked fourth in scoring (17.2) and third in rebounding (8.4), tallying nine double-doubles over 25 games on the year.
Joining Siegrist and Correa on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team was Butler guard Oumou Toure, Marquette forward Camryn Taylor and Seton Hall guard Mya Jackson. Toure was one of three unanimous picks, along with Siegrist and Correa. The Butler newcomer leads the BIG EAST in steals with 2.4 over 26 games played, while averaging 8.6 points to rank fourth on the team. Taylor averaged 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in BIG EAST play, leading Marquette in rebounding three times this season and in scoring twice. Jackson ranked third among BIG EAST rookies in scoring with a 9.9 conference average, while her assists clip (2.1) also ranked third among newcomers.
BIG EAST Player of the Year
Jaylyn Agnew, Creighton, R-Sr., F
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova, R-Fr., F*
BIG EAST Coach of the Year
Megan Duffy, Marquette
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Chante Stonewall, DePaul, Sr., F
BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Sonya Morris, DePaul, So., G
BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Kelly Campbell, DePaul, Sr., G
BIG EAST Sixth-Woman Award
Leilani Correa, St. John’s, Fr., G
All-BIG EAST First Team
Kristen Spolyar, Butler, Sr., G
Jaylyn Agnew, Creighton, R-Sr., F*
Chante Stonewall, DePaul, Sr., F*
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova, R-Fr., F
Mary Gedaka, Villanova, Sr., F
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Kelly Campbell, DePaul, Sr., G
Sonya Morris, DePaul, So., G
Selena Lott, Marquette, Jr., G
Qadashah Hoppie, St. John’s, Jr., G
Shadeen Samuels, Seton Hall, Sr., F
All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Temi Carda, Creighton, Jr., G
Lexi Held, DePaul, So., G
A’riana Gray, Xavier, Jr., F
BIG EAST All-Freshman Team
Oumou Toure, Butler, Fr., G*
Camryn Taylor, Marquette, Fr., F
Leilani Correa, St. John’s, Fr., G*
Mya Jackson, Seton Hall, Fr., G
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova, R-Fr., F*
*unanimous selection