NEW YORK – BIG EAST Conference awards were handed out in women's basketball on Wednesday morning with Tori Schickel and Whitney Jennings earning recognition. Schickel was placed on the All-BIG EAST First Team after being named to the Second Team as a sophomore. Newcomer Whitney Jennings was named honorable mention. Twenty different student-athletes were recognized across the All-BIG EAST First Team, Second Team, Honorable Mention and All-Freshman Team, which were chosen by a vote of the league's head coaches. Allazia Blockton of Marquette took the top honor as BIG EAST Player of the Year.
 
Blockton and Schickel were joined by Kelly Campbell (DePaul), Mart'e Grays (DePaul) and Dionna White (Georgetown) on the All-BIG EAST First Team. Schickel finished conference play ranked third in scoring (16.4), fifth in rebounding (8.6) and first in blocks (1.3). She enters the postseason with 10 double-doubles and 12 double-digit rebounding performances.
 
Schickel reached a double figure scoring total in 17 of Butler's 18 conference games this season. She helped the Bulldogs upset nationally-ranked Villanova on their home floor on Jan. 2 with 26 points, seven boards and six assists. Just three days later, Schickel would drop 28 points and 15 rebounds in the win at Georgetown.
 
One of the best interior players in the league, Schickel would do a majority of her damage in the paint. She shot 56.2 percent against conference foes, totaling up 295 points. Double teams became the norm against Schickel which led to her also leading the team in assists during conference action (49). Defensively, she led BU with 23 blocks and ranked fourth on the team in steals (19).
 
Schickel and Jennings were the only two Bulldogs to start in all 18 conference games for Butler this season. With Schickel carving out space on the inside, Jennings would give Butler balance offensively and attack from the perimeter. The redshirt-junior from Logansport averaged 16.1 points per game in BIG EAST play to provide BU with 289 total points. She hit 47 3-point field goals and led the team in minutes played (38.2).
 
Jennings was nearly automatic from the charity stripe, connecting on 42 of her 47 attempts. She pulled down 3.8 rebounds per game, ranked second on the team in assists (42) and came up with 17 steals. Top performances for Jennings during the conference season included a 29-point explosion against Villanova, 26 points, five rebounds and five assists at Georgetown and 25 points in the conference opener against Xavier.
 
Full season stats for both Schickel and Jennings put the duo in elite company. No Butler team has ever had two players net 500 points in the same season. Jennings currently sits at 513 points and Schickel is close behind with 491. Jennings became just the seventh player in program history to score over 500 points in a single-season. She now ranks sixth on the BU all-time top ten list.
 
BIG EAST Player of the Year
Allazia Blockton, Marquette, Jr., G
 
BIG EAST Co-Coaches of the Year
Harry Perretta, Villanova
Carolyn Kieger, Marquette
 
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Qadashah Hoppie, St. John's, Fr., G
 
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Dionna White, Georgetown, Jr., G
 
BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Cynthia Petke, Georgetown, Sr., F
 
BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Lauren Prochaska, DePaul, Sr., G
 
BIG EAST Sixth-Woman Award
Mary Gedaka, Villanova, So., F*
 
All-BIG EAST First Team
Allazia Blockton, Marquette, Jr., G*
Kelly Campbell, DePaul, So., G
Mart'e Grays, DePaul, Jr., F
Tori Schickel, Butler, Jr., F/C
Dionna White, Georgetown, Jr., G
 
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Jaylyn Agnew, Creighton, So., F
Erika Davenport, Marquette, Jr., F
Audrey Faber, Creighton, Jr., F
Alex Louin, Villanova, Sr., G
Maya Singleton, St. John's, Sr., F
 
All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Mary Gedaka, Villanova, So., F
Whitney Jennings, Butler, R-Jr., G
Sydney Lamberty, Creighton, Sr., G
Cynthia Petke, Georgetown, Sr., F
Amani Wilborn, Marquette, Jr., G
 
BIG EAST All-Freshman Team
Temi Carda, Creighton, Fr., G*
Aaliyah Dunham, Xavier, Fr., G
Tiana England, St. John's, R-Fr., G*
Qadashah Hoppie, St. John's, Fr., G*
Chanell Williams, Providence, Fr., G*
 
*unanimous selection