NEW YORK – On the eve of the BIG EAST Tournament presented by JEEP, the Conference announced its annual women’s basketball awards. Regular-season champion UConn took home the lion’s share of the awards as redshirt-junior guard Paige Bueckers was voted BIG EAST Player of the Year, rookie guard Ashlynn Shade was tabbed BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, and Geno Auriemma was selected BIG EAST Coach of the Year presented by Invesco QQQ. It marked the eighth time in league history one school swept the top three individual awards and the sixth time the Huskies achieved the feat. 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: BIG EAST Co-Defensive Players of the Year Kelsey Ransom of Georgetown and Christina Dalce of Villanova; Villanova’s Lucy Olsen as Most Improved Player; Georgetown’s Brianna Scott as Sixth-Woman of the Year; and Georgetown’s Graceann Bennett as the Sportsmanship Award winner. A 10-member All-BIG EAST First Team, a five-member Second Team, four Honorable Mentions and a six-member All-Freshman Team were also selected, with an extra member added to the All-Freshman Team due to a tie in voting.
 
Bueckers becomes the eighth player in league history to earn multiple BIG EAST Player of the Year certificates after claiming the honor following the 2020-21 season. She is the fifth Husky to repeat and first since three-time honoree Maya Moore (2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11). Over 18 league games, Bueckers finished No. 2 in scoring (22.0), No. 5 in assists (4.3), No. 6 in steals (2.0), No. 8 in blocks (0.9), No. 3 in field goal percentage (.574) and No. 1 in free-throw shooting (.904). The two-time national player of the week (USBWA) enters the postseason with four 30-point performances on the year and a BIG EAST-best 20 20-point games. She has led the Huskies in scoring 16 times. She was named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team, the Ann Meyers Drysdale USBWA National Player of the Year Watchlist and the Wade Trophy Midseason Watch List. UConn has taken home BIG EAST Player of the Year honors for the 19^th time.
 
Bueckers was also named BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Wednesday, marking the 10th time the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year was also the BIG EAST Player of the Year.
 
Auriemma was selected BIG EAST Coach of the Year presented by Invesco QQQ for the12th time after leading the shorthanded Huskies to their 23^rd regular-season title and 11^th undefeated BIG EAST finish. UConn lost five players to season-ending injuries, with four of their nine remaining available players being true or redshirt-freshmen. Despite the adversity, UConn went 18-0 in BIG EAST play, winning by an average of 31.1 points per game. The Huskies enter postseason play with a 26-5 overall mark and top-10 rankings in both national polls.
 
Shade becomes the 14^th Husky to win BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors and first since Bueckers did so in 2021. Over 18 BIG EAST games, Shade led all freshmen in both scoring (12.7) and rebounding (4.0), while listing second in steals (1.1) and third in assists (2.1). Her field goal percentage (.500) ranked seventh among all BIG EAST players. The rookie guard enters the postseason third on the Huskies in scoring with an 11.2 overall average.
 
Ransom and Dalce share BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year honors, each earning the recognition for the first time. Ransom, a senior guard, is the third Hoya to earn top defensive honors, while Dalce, a junior forward, is the first from Villanova to claim the certificate. Ransom anchored a Georgetown defense which enters the postseason ranked 13^th nationally, allowing just 54.9 points per game. GU’s opponents shoot on average just 37.3 percent to rank in the top 40 among all Division I teams. Ransom averages 2.2 steals per game to rank fifth in the BIG EAST, while the 157 career steals she collected in BIG EAST play rank 17^th all-time. Over 29 games this season, Dalce leads all BIG EAST players in both rebounding (9.7) and blocked shots (2.3), with her blocks average ranking 20^th nationally. Villanova limited BIG EAST opponents to just 59.1 points per game to finish second in defensive scoring.
 
Villanova’s Olsen nearly doubled her scoring average from a season ago to enter the postseason as the nation’s fourth-leading scorer. As a sophomore in 2022-23, Olsen averaged 12.4 points per game. Fast forward to this year, the junior guard is scoring 23.3 points per game, has posted a league-high nine 30-point performances, and is tied with Bueckers for the BIG EAST lead with 20 20-point games on the year. Olsen was the BIG EAST’s top scorer in league play at 22.4 points per game, as she became the fourth straight Wildcat to win the conference’s scoring title. Olsen is the fourth Villanova player to earn Most Improved honors.
 
Georgetown’s Scott came off the bench in all 26 games she appeared in this year but still managed to finish third on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game. Her rebounding average of 6.0 per game ranked 14^th among all BIG EAST players, while her field goal percentage (.500) listed eighth, and blocks per game ranked fourth (1.4). The junior forward boasted career-best numbers across the board, increasing her scoring average by over three points, rebounding clip by nearly two boards per game, and bumping her shooting average from .398 to .500 between last year and this year. Scott is the first Hoya to earn the Sixth-Woman Award.
 
Georgetown’s Bennett becomes the first two-time BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award recipient after being recognized in 2022-23 as well. The graduate student forward is a leader for the Hoyas on and off the court. Bennett is a three-time team captain that ranks second on the squad in scoring, averaging 9.5 points per game, including 10.0 in BIG EAST play, while leading the Hoyas in rebounding with 7.2 per game, including 7.4 against conference foes. Off the court, she founded Georgetown Hoyos which is a women’s sports affinity group specifically for female varsity athletes. Bennett has worked with the Voice in Sport Foundation for the past three years as she champions raising the bar for women’s sports.
 
Bueckers and Olsen were two of seven unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Additional unanimous picks include UConn senior forward Aaliyah Edwards, Creighton senior guard Lauren Jensen and senior forward Emma Ronsiek, Marquette senior forward Liza Karlen and St. John’s redshirt-senior guard Unique Drake. Creighton senior guard/forward Morgan Maly, Georgetown’s Ransom, and Seton Hall graduate student guard/forward Azana Baines also earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors.
 
On the All-BIG EAST Second Team was Butler’s Caroline Strande, UConn’s Nika Mühl, DePaul’s Anaya Peoples, Marquette’s Jordan King and Providence’s Olivia Olsen. UConn’s Shade, Villanova’s Dalce, Marquette sophomore guard Mackenzie Hare and St. John’s graduate forward Jillian Archer were Honorable Mention selections.
 
The six-member BIG EAST All-Freshman Team included four unanimous picks: UConn’s Shade and KK Arnold, Seton Hall’s Savannah Catalon and Villanova’s Maddie Webber. Butler’s Riley Makalusky and Xavier’s Aizhanique Mayo were also recognized on the All-Freshman Team.
 
BIG EAST Player of the Year
Paige Bueckers, UConn, R-Jr., G
 
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Ashlynn Shade, UConn, Fr., G
 
BIG EAST Coach of the Year
Geno Auriemma, UConn
 
BIG EAST Co-Defensive Players of the Year
Christina Dalce, Villanova, Jr., F
Kelsey Ransom, Georgetown, Sr., G
 
BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Lucy Olsen, Villanova, Jr., G
 
BIG EAST Sixth-Woman Award
Brianna Scott, Georgetown, Jr., F
 
BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Graceann Bennett, Georgetown, Grad., F
 
All-BIG EAST First Team
Paige Bueckers, UConn, R-Jr., G*
Aaliyah Edwards, UConn, Sr., F*
Lauren Jensen, Creighton, Sr., G*
Morgan Maly, Creighton, Sr., G/F
Emma Ronsiek, Creighton, Sr., F*
Kelsey Ransom, Georgetown, Sr., G
Liza Karlen, Marquette, Sr., F*
Unique Drake, St. John’s, R-Sr., G*
Azana Baines, Seton Hall, Grad., G/F
Lucy Olsen, Villanova, Jr., G*
 
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Caroline Strande, Butler, Sr., G
Nika Mühl, UConn, Sr., G
Anaya Peoples, DePaul, Grad., G
Jordan King, Marquette, Sr., G
Olivia Olsen, Providence, Jr., F
 
All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Ashlynn Shade, UConn, Fr., G
Mackenzie Hare, Marquette, So., G
Jillian Archer, St. John’s, Grad., F
Christina Dalce, Villanova, Jr., F
 
BIG EAST All-Freshman Team^
Riley Makalusky, Butler, Fr., G/F
KK Arnold, UConn, Fr., G*
Ashlynn Shade, UConn, Fr., G*
Savannah Catalon, Seton Hall, Fr., G*
Maddie Webber, Villanova, Fr., G*
Aizhanique Mayo, Xavier, R-Fr., G
 
*unanimous selection
^extra player added due to a tie in voting