NEW YORK – Xavier redshirt-junior forward Ayanna Townsend was named the 2021-22 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Wednesday. Townsend becomes the first Musketeer to earn the academic merit. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Awards Selection Committee. Townsend will receive a $2,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies.
Pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science, Townsend carries a 3.88 cumulative grade point average. The BIG EAST All-Academic Team selection has already been accepted into multiple graduate schools in which she will work towards a degree in occupational therapy. Townsend has been named to the Dean’s List for eight consecutive semesters and earned Xavier’s Student Athlete Achievers Award for this academic year.
On the court, the Xavier team captain is averaging 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds over 29 games played this season. She has started in 27 of 29 games, and ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in rebounding and shooting percentage (.467).
Townsend is a leader off the court as well – an attribute the Academic Awards Selection Committee was particularly impressed with. She is a member of Xavier’ Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), I.D.E.A. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Awareness) and L.E.A.D. (Ladies with Emphasis on Achievement and Distinction). The redshirt-junior is the co-founder of the Black Student-Athlete Group and BSAG Mentorship program. She has participated in QPR Suicide Prevention Training and after-school and summer camps in her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa. Townsend is CPR certified and interned with the Xavier Strength and Conditioning Department. She plans on getting her National Strength and Conditioning Association certification and then take the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy to become an occupational therapist.
The BIG EAST Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the BIG EAST Conference during the 2021-22 academic year. In addition, 22 student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST’s 11 member institutions) will receive postgraduate scholarships as the winners of their respective institutions’ Scholar-Athlete Award. The winners of the institutional awards are then eligible for the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, which provides an additional postgraduate scholarship to one male and one female student-athlete.
All-Time BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year
| 1984-85 |
Leigh Curl |
Connecticut |
| 1985-86 |
Joan Powers |
Providence |
| 1986-87 |
Kathy Sweet |
Boston College |
| 1987-88 |
Vera Jones |
Syracuse |
| 1988-89 |
Geraldine Santilius |
Seton Hall |
| 1989-90 |
Angela Alston |
Syracuse |
| 1990-91 |
Carla Wenger |
Boston College |
| 1991-92 |
Wendy Davis |
Connecticut |
| 1992-93 |
Erin Kenneally |
Syracuse |
| 1993-94 |
Rebecca Lobo |
Connecticut |
| 1994-95 |
Rebecca Lobo |
Connecticut |
| 1995-96 |
Jennifer Rizzotti |
Connecticut |
| 1996-97 |
Kristyn Cook |
Syracuse |
| 1997-98 |
Raquel Nurse |
Syracuse |
| 1998-99 |
Rebecca Burbridge |
West Virginia |
| 1999-2000 |
Cal Bouchard |
Boston College |
| 2000-01 |
Ruth Riley |
Notre Dame |
| 2001-02 |
Nicole Conway |
Boston College |
| 2002-03 |
Alicia Ratay |
Notre Dame |
| 2003-04 |
Courtney Mix |
Villanova |
| 2004-05 |
Ashley Bush |
Seton Hall |
| 2005-06 |
Megan Duffy |
Notre Dame |
| 2006-07 |
Jenna Rubino |
DePaul |
| 2007-08 |
Allie Quigley |
DePaul |
| 2008-09 |
Jill Stephens |
Cincinnati |
| 2009-10 |
Maya Moore |
Connecticut |
| 2010-11 |
Maya Moore |
Connecticut |
| 2011-12 |
Da'Shena Stevens |
St. John's |
| 2012-13 |
Anna Martin |
DePaul |
| 2013-14 |
Katherine Plouffe |
Marquette |
| 2014-15 |
Brittany Hrynko |
DePaul |
| 2015-16 |
Megan Podkowa |
DePaul |
| 2016-17 |
Brooke Schulte |
DePaul |
| 2017-18 |
Allazia Blockton |
Marquette |
| 2018-19 |
Allazia Blockton |
Marquette |
| 2019-20 |
Chante Stonewall |
DePaul |
| 2020-21 |
Lexi Held |
DePaul |
| 2021-22 |
Ayanna Townsend |
Xavier |