University of Connecticut Athletics
Diana Taurasi Named 2004 BIG EAST Player of the Year
3/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Providence, R.I. (March 5) – For the second straight year, University of Connecticut senior All-American Diana Taurasi has been selected as the BIG EAST Player of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches.
In addition, Taurasi was a unanimous first team All-BIG EAST choice. Other Huskies honored by the league included Barbara Turner (second team All-BIG EAST), Ann Strother (third team All-BIG EAST) and Liz Sherwood (All-Freshman Team).
Georgetown senior Rebekkah Brunson has been chosen Defensive Player of the Year. Meg Bulger of West Virginia earns Freshman of the Year accolades and her coach, Mike Carey, has been honored by his peers as the Coach of the Year for the first time. Sophomore Megan Duffy of Notre Dame was honored as the Most Improved Player. The BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award was won by St. John's senior Sherri Brown. The awards were announced at the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Championship Presented by State Farm awards banquet.
Taurasi, a native of Chino, Calif., is the fourth BIG EAST player to earn the award more than once and the first UConn player to win the award in back-to-back seasons since Rebecca Lobo (1994 & 1995).
The 2002-03 national player of the year has helped the Huskies to their 11th consecutive regular season title. Taurasi ranks in the top 10 among all BIG EAST players in seven statistical categories. She leads UConn in scoring (15.9), assists (4.9), field goals (148) and 3-point field goals (66). She is fifth all-time in UConn scoring with 2,017 points and needs 26 assists to become UConn's all-time leader.
Taurasi is one of two active players in the nation to have more than 2,000 points and 600 career assists. Once again, she is a finalist for the Sullivan Award, Wade Trophy, Wooden Award, Naismith National Player of the Year Award and the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award.
Taurasi is a three-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection and in 2001 she became the first rookie to earn the Most Outstanding Performer award at the BIG EAST Championship.
Turner earned second-team status after being named to the league’s All-Rookie Team last season. She currently ranks second on the UConn squad with an average of 13.5 points per game. She was named BIG EAST Player of the Week earlier this season and has posted double-figure points in 20 of UConn’s 27 games this season. She boasts the best field goal percentage in the BIG EAST at .559 (137-245).
Strother ranks third among Husky leaders with an average of 11.6 points per game, while Sherwood posted 4.8 points per contest during her freshman campaign.
Brunson is the first Georgetown player to win the defensive award since its inception in 1996-97. The senior forward is just the second player in BIG EAST history to win the rebounding title three times. In 2000-01, she was the first conference rookie to top the rebounding list in conference games only. Brunson averaged 11.3 rebounds in 16 BIG EAST games this season, marking the highest average in seven years. Additionally, she is the first conference player to win the scoring (20.4) and rebounding titles in the same year. Brunson became Georgetown's career rebound leader and is the only GU player to amass 1,000 points and 1,000 caroms. For the second straight year, she has led all BIG EAST players in double-doubles (17).
Bulger earns the freshman award after averaging 10.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 22 games. After missing the first six games with an injury, she went on to earn BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors six times and has played every position at this season. In conference play Bulger contributed 10.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. She finished the regular season by scoring in double figures in nine of the last 11 games.
Duffy, a sophomore guard, takes the Most Improved Player Award after starting 27 games for Notre Dame this season and logging a team-high 33.4 minutes per game. Last season she started just five contests and averaged 3.0 points while shooting just 24.2 percent from the field. Duffy has tripled her offensive output to become the Irish's second-leading scorer (10.6). She has hit a team-best 44 3-point field goals and leads ND in assists (4.2). Duffy has been her team's top scorer in six games, helping the Irish to a second-place BIG EAST finish. After reaching double-figures in scoring just twice last season, she has recorded 16 double-digit performances this year.
Carey wins his first league coaching award in his third season at the helm of the Mountaineer program. After going 4-12 in BIG EAST place last year, he has guided the 2003-04 team to a 10-6 showing, marking the second-best turnaround in BIG EAST history. WVU's 19-9 record represents the most wins since 1996-97 and its sixth seed in the conference tournament is the best since non-divisional play began in 1998-99.
Brown has been honored with the Sportsmanship Award, in part, for battles she has won off the court. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 19, she took the rest of the year off. Last season Brown returned to the Red Storm team and has been an inspiration to the program. Although she is unable to compete at the level she once enjoyed, she practices every day with her teammates, serving as their emotional leader. She will graduate as a Dean's List student and a BIG EAST Academic All-Star.
Along with Taurasi, Brunson and Rutgers junior Cappie Pondexter are repeat members of the All-BIG EAST First Team. Notre Dame junior Jacqueline Batteast, junior Jessalyn Deveny of Boston College and Miami sophomore Tamara James round out the first team after earning second team accolades last year.
2003-04 ALL-BIG EAST AWARDS
BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (Sr., G, Chino, Calif.)
BIG EAST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Meg Bulger, West Virginia (Fr., G, Pittsburgh, Pa.)
BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR - Mike Carey, West Virginia (third season)
BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Rebekkah Brunson, Georgetown (Sr., F, Oxon Hill, Md.)
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - Megan Duffy, Notre Dame (So., G, Dayton, Ohio)
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Sherri Brown, St. John's (Sr., G, Willingboro, N.J.)
BIG EAST BASKETBALL SCHOLAR-ATHLETE - Courtney Mix, Villanova (Sr., F, Perrysburg, Ohio)
ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
School
Cl.
Pos.
Hometown
High School
Jacqueline Batteast
Notre Dame
Jr.
F
South Bend, Ind.
Washington
*Rebekkah Brunson
Georgetown
Sr.
F
Oxon Hill, Md.
Oxon Hill
Jessalyn Deveny
Boston College
Jr.
G
Westford, Mass.
Westford Academy
Tamara James
Miami
So.
G/F
Dania, Fla.
South Broward
*Cappie Pondexter
Rutgers
Jr.
G
Chicago, Ill.
John Marshall
Connecticut
Sr.
G
Chino, Calif.
Don Lugo
ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Kate Bulger
West Virginia
Sr.
G
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Oakland Catholic
Amber Jacobs
Boston College
Sr.
G
Clarks Summit, Pa.
Abington Heights
Ieva Kublina
Virginia Tech
Sr.
F/C
Riga, Latvia
Trinity Episcopal
Courtney Mix
Villanova
Sr.
F
Perrysburg, Ohio
Toledo Central Catholic
Connecticut
So.
F
Cleveland, Ohio
East Tech
ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Chanivia Broussard
Miami
Sr.
F
Miami, Fla.
Miami Northwestern
Julie McBride
Syracuse
Sr.
G
Mechanicville, N.Y.
Catholic Central
Yolanda Paige
West Virginia
Jr.
G
Virginia Beach, Va.
Bayside
Connecticut
So.
G
Castle Rock, Colo.
Highlands Ranch
Liad Suez
Villanova
So.
F
Even-Yehuda, Israel
Ostrovsky
HONORABLE MENTION
Megan Duffy
Notre Dame
So.
G
Dayton, Ohio
Chaminade-Julienne
Latoya Kincaid
Pittsburgh
Sr.
F
West Helena, Ark.
Central
Yalonda McCormick
Miami
Jr.
G
Miami, Fla.
Monsignor Pace
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Monique Blake
Seton Hall
Fr.
F
Union, N.J.
Union
*Meg Bulger
West Virginia
Fr.
G
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Oakland Catholic
*Angie Clark
St. John's
Fr.
F
Copiague, N.Y.
Copiague
Lauren Kohn
Syracuse
Fr.
G
Adrian, Mich.
Adrian
Heta Korpivaara
Seton Hall
Fr.
F
Espoo, Finland
Etela-Tapiolan Lukio
Liz Sherwood
Connecticut
Fr.
C
Castle Rock, Colo.
Highlands Ranch
* - unanimous selection
Note: due to a tie in the voting there are six members of the All-Freshman Team
