On Friday night in Hartford, the Big East Conference announced the regular season awards for women’s basketball. Even though UCONN finished 16-0 during the regular season they only won one of the 8 awards. Tina Charles was named Big East Freshman of the Year. It marks the second straight year that a UCONN player has won the award. Renee Montgomery won it last year.
Surprisingly enough, UCONN only managed to place one person on the Big East First Team. That was Montgomery. However 3 UCONN players made the Second Team as Charles, Kalana Greene and Charde Houston were picked. Charles and fellow frosh Kaili McLaren made the Big East All Freshman Team.
I really hope Charles brought an extra bag with her as she took home a lot of hardware. The good thing about this team is that they don’t really care about individual awards. Their number one goal is winning the NCAA Championship.
Here is a look at all the winners:
BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Angel McCoughtry, Louisville (So.)
BIG EAST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Tina Charles, Connecticut (Fr.)
BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR – Terri Mitchell, Marquette (11th season)
BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Essence Carson, Rutgers (Jr.)
BIG EAST MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – Shavonte Zellous, Pittsburgh (So.)
BIG EAST SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Jenna Rubino, DePaul (Sr.)
BIG EAST/AÉROPOSTALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE – Jenna Rubino, DePaul (Sr.)
Continue reading to see the Big East All-Conference Teams.
| ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM | ||||
| Name | School | Class | Position | Hometown |
| Charel Allen | Notre Dame | Jr. | G | Monessen, Pa. |
| Essence Carson | Rutgers | Jr. | G | Paterson, N.J. |
| Jessica Dickson | USF | Sr. | F | Ocala, Fla. |
| Krystal Ellis | Marquette | So. | G | Racine, Wis. |
| Angel McCoughtry | Louisville | So. | F | Baltimore, Md. |
| Renee Montgomery | Connecticut | So. | G | St. Albans, W.Va. |
| Christina Quaye | Marquette | Sr. | F | Chicago, Ill. |
| Olayinka Sanni | West Virginia | Jr. | C | Chicago Heights, Ill. |
| Kia Vaughn | Rutgers | So. | C | Bronx, N.Y. |
| Marcedes Walker | Pittsburgh | Jr. | C | Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Shavonte Zellous | Pittsburgh | So. | G | Orlando, Fla. |
| ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM | ||||
| Name | School | Class | Position | Hometown |
| Matee Ajavon | Rutgers | Jr. | G | Newark, N.J. |
| Tina Charles | Connecticut | Fr. | C | Jamaica, N.Y. |
| Shantia Grace | USF | So. | G | Sarasota, Fla. |
| Kalana Greene | Connecticut | So. | G | Saint Stephens, S.C. |
| Charde Houston | Connecticut | Jr. | F | San Diego, Calif. |
| Chelsea Marandola | Providence | So. | G | Johnston, R.I. |
| Kieraah Marlow | Georgetown | Jr. | F | Coatesville, Pa. |
| LaQuita Owens | West Virginia | Jr. | G | Charlotte, N.C. |
| Allie Quigley | DePaul | Jr. | G | Joliet, Ill. |
| Kia Wright | St. John’s | R-Jr. | G | Copiague, N.Y. |
| HONORABLE MENTION | ||||
| Name | School | Class | Position | Hometown |
| Chakhia Cole | West Virginia | Jr. | F | Marlboro, N.J. |
| Jazz Covington | Louisville | Sr. | C | Adel, Ga. |
| Monique McLean | St. John’s | So. | G | Newport News, Va. |
| Nicole Michael | Syracuse | Fr. | G/F | Queens, N.Y. |
| Elizbieta Mukosiej | Seton Hall | Jr. | G | Bilystok, Poland |
| Caprice Smith | DePaul | Jr. | F | Maywood, Ill. |
| ALL-BIG EAST FRESHMAN TEAM^ | ||||
| Name | School | Class | Position | Hometown |
| Ashley Barlow | Notre Dame | Fr. | G | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Tina Charles | Connecticut | Fr. | C | Jamaica, N.Y. |
| Kendria Holmes | Providence | Fr. | G | Charlotte, N.C. |
| Carla Jacobs | Cincinnati | Fr. | G | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Melissa Lechlitner | Notre Dame | Fr. | G | Mishawaka, Ind. |
| Kaili McLaren | Connecticut | Fr. | F | Washington, D.C. |
| Nicole Michael | Syracuse | Fr. | G/F | Queens, N.Y. |
| Epiphanny Prince | Rutgers | Fr. | G | Brooklyn, N.Y. |
| Brittany Ray | Rutgers | Fr. | G | Bronx, N.Y. |
| Jania Sims | Pittsburgh | Fr. | G | Newark, N.J. |
| Erica Williamson | Notre Dame | Fr. | C | Charlotte, N.C. |
| ^ – An extra member has been added to the All-Freshman Team due to a tie in voting | ||||
