NEW YORK – Caroline Strande and Riley Makalusky earned BIG EAST awards on Thursday morning after an announcement from the league office. Strande was voted onto the All-BIG EAST Second Team by the conference head coaches and Riley Makalusky earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
 
Strande is the first Bulldog to earn Second Team accolades since Tori Schickel in 2019. She joins Schickel (2x) and Daress McClung (2x) as the only Bulldogs to appear on the Second Team. Makalusky is the fifth BU rookie to be named to the All-Freshman Team.
 
Strande was one of the most improved players in the BIG EAST during the 2023-24 campaign averaging 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest, leading BU in each category. Strande shot 43 percent from the field and knocked down 45 percent of her 3-point attempts. A starter in all 29 games, Strande also led the team in assists (77) while ranking second in steals (35).
 
Strande scored in double figures 25 times and led the Bulldogs in scoring 15 times. She was also the top rebounding guard in the conference, pulling down 209 total rebounds this season. She led BU in rebounding 20 times over 29 games and ranked ninth in the conference with her 7.2 average.
 
Her best individual performance came at Xavier on Jan. 24. Strande scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to post a double-double. Over the course of the season, she topped 20 points five times and hit double figures in the rebound column three times.
 
A top talent in the league, Strande's BIG EAST rankings had her at 10th in scoring, ninth in rebounding, third in 3-point percentage, seventh in free throw percentage, fourth in defensive rebounds, and 12th in minutes played.
 
Makalusky was one of six freshmen in the conference to make the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. After a standout career at Hamilton Southeastern, Makalusky appeared in 28 of Butler's 29 games this season and averaged 6.4 points per contest.
 
Makalusky moved into the starting five on Jan. 24 and has scored in double figures seven times over the team's last 11 games. Her career-high scoring total came early in the year against Roosevelt. The talented guard scored 23 points in 21 minutes, hitting seven of her eight 3-point attempts.
 
Makalusky leads the BIG EAST Conference in 3-point field goal percentage. She has made 31 of her 67 attempts (46.3) which currently ranks third in school history.
 
Additional highlights for Makalusky this season include scoring 21 points at Georgetown and recording 19 points in her first collegiate start at Xavier. She has logged over 20 minutes of playing time in every game since making her first start and has made at least one 3-pointer in eight of those 11 games. Makalusky averaged 7.7 points per game against BIG EAST competition and has averaged 9.8 ppg as a starter.
 
The full list of BIG EAST Award winners are listed below:
 
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