On March 5 the Big East women’s basketball season awards winners were announced by the conference. Creighton’s Marissa Janning was selected as Big East Player of the Year and Georgetown’s freshman center Natalie Butler was unanimously chosen as Big East Freshman of the Year. DePaul Head Coach Doug Bruno won Big East Coach of the Year, as he led the Blue Demons to the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. Marquette senior forward Katherine Plouffe was tabbed as Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Marquette’s Plouffe isn’t only having an impressive year in the classroom with a 3.4 grade-point-average, but is also making a statement on the hardwood. Plouffe was a unanimous selection to the All-Big East First Team, as she averaged 17.6 points-per-game and 9.3 rebounds on the season. Plouffe is the Big East’s active leader in scoring and rebounding with 1,495 points and 911 career boards.
“Having a focused mind set and working hard in everything I do,” Plouffe said. “Having good time management skills helps me do what I need to do both on the court and in the classroom.”
DePaul head coach Doug Bruno earned his first ever Big East Coach of the Year award as he led the Blue Demons to their first ever Big East Conference regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. DePaul finished the season with a 24-6 record and 15-3 conference mark. The Blue Demons won 13 of its last 14 games, earning them a No. 25 ranking in the national polls.
“I always believed that the Coach of the Year award is the same as a Team of the Year award,” Bruno said. “I really believe we have the best players.”
Georgetown Freshman center Natalie Butler had an outstanding campaign this season on her way to being unanimously chosen as Big East Freshman of the Year. The freshman seemed to impose her will all season long as she set new Big East records for total rebounds (248) and rebounds per game (13.8). Butler also set the Georgetown record with 401 rebounds.
“This is mind blowing to me,” Butler said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and Coach Lewis pushing me everyday. This is a dream come true.”
As only a sophomore Creighton guard Marissa Janning won Big East Player of the Year. Janning ended the season as the league’s scoring champion averaging 18.3 points per game to go along with 5.1 rebounds per game and 3.8 assists per game. Janning also led the Big East in FT% (.861) and tied for the season high in points scored in a single game with 38.
“My first reaction was wow,” Janning said. “I was speechless. I am very thankful to my friends, family, coaches, and teammates. My teammates pushed me everyday. Everyone at Creighton pushed me.”
