Selena Lott Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year

NEW YORK--Marquette University women's basketball senior guard Selena Lott was named the BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year, the league office announced on Thursday. Major awards and all-conference teams were selected by a vote of the BIG EAST head coaches who were not allowed to vote for their own players.

In addition to being named conference defensive player of the year, Lott was selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The Troy, N.Y., native led the Golden Eagles in points (15.0), assists (5.3), defensive rebounds (4.2), steals (2.1) and blocked shots (0.8) during the regular season. She scored in double figures 16 times, had 14 games with five-or-more assists and tallied four double-doubles during her senior season. Lott posted two double figure rebound games and had two-or-more steals on 12 different occasions in 2020-21. The all-around wing takes home the first BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year award in program history. She also earns her second career yearly honor from the conference after making the All-BIG EAST Second Team in 2019-20.

Joining Lott in earning all-conference selections were redshirt senior forward Lauren Van Kleunen and sophomore forward Camryn Taylor.

A Mason, Ohio native, Van Kleunen earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors after a stellar fifth season in the Blue & Gold. LVK ranked second on the team in scoring (13.0), third in rebounding (5.9) and second in steals (1.0), blocked shots (0.5) and field goal percentage (.523). She reached double figures in scoring a team-best 17 times this season, including seven of MU's last eight games. LVK also has four 20-plus point games this season, which is good for second on the team.

Along with her Second Team All-BIG EAST honor, Van Kleunen was also honored with the prestigious BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award. The only player in the conference to earn this award, LVK has been a standout student in the classroom and a leader in the Marquette community. She graduated with her undergraduate degree in marketing with a minor in public relations in May 2019 with a 3.2 cumulative GPA. LVK is currently pursuing her graduate degree of communication and media studies and a sport leadership certificate and will graduate with both in May 2021. She's worked as a MAGIS Mentor for the past three years and a team SAAC Rep for the past four years. Van Kleunen has been extremely active in community service opportunities including Al's Run, reading to kids at school, Race for the Cure and Hunger Task Force. She's also one of the team's prominent leaders in the social justice movement.

MU's third all-conference honoree is sophomore forward Camryn Taylor, who was named All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention. The Peoria, Ill., native built off a strong first season in which she was named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. She averaged 9.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as the team's sixth woman. Taylor took her game to another level as a sophomore, scoring 11.9 points per game and grabbing a team-high 7.0 rebounds a night on 53.2 percent shooting from the floor. She posted 15 double figure scoring outings this season and three double-doubles, including a 20-point, 11-rebound game on Feb. 24 at No. 24/23 DePaul. The super sophomore ranked in the top 10 in the BIG EAST in rebounding (sixth), offensive rebounding (third) and field goal percentage (seventh).

The Golden Eagles open the 2021 BIG EAST Tournament, presented by Jeep, as the No. 2 seed and will face the winner of the No. 7/No. 10 game on Saturday, March 6 at 5 p.m. CT at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

BIG EAST Player of the Year
Paige Bueckers, UConn, Fr., G

BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Paige Bueckers, UConn, Fr., G*

BIG EAST Coach of the Year
Geno Auriemma, UConn

BIG EAST Co-Defensive Players of the Year
Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn, Jr., F
Selena Lott, Marquette, Sr., G

BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Lauren Park-Lane, Seton Hall, So., G

BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Lauren Van Kleunen, Marquette, R-Sr., F

BIG EAST Sixth-Woman of the Year
Aaliyah Edwards, UConn, Fr., F

BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year^
Lexi Held, DePaul, Jr., G

All-BIG EAST First Team
Paige Bueckers, UConn, Fr., G*
Madison Siegrist, Villanova, So., F*
Sonya Morris, DePaul, Jr., G*
Selena Lott, Marquette, Sr., G*
Christyn Williams, UConn, Jr., G*
Andra Espinoza-Hunter, Seton Hall, Grad., G
Leilani Correa, St. John's, So., G
Lexi Held, DePaul, Jr., G
Lauren Park-Lane, Seton Hall, So., G
Desiree Elmore, Seton Hall, Sr., G/F

All-BIG EAST Second Team
Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn, Jr., F
Lauren Van Kleunen, Marquette, R-Sr., F
Brianna Herlihy, Villanova, Sr., F
Temi Carda, Creighton, Sr., G
Mary Baskerville, Providence, Jr., F

All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Dee Bekelja, DePaul, Sr., G
Camryn Taylor, Marquette, So., F

BIG EAST All-Freshman Team
Paige Bueckers, UConn, Fr., G*
Aaliyah Edwards, UConn, Fr., F*
Emma Ronsiek, Creighton, Fr., F
Kelsey Ransom, Georgetown, Fr., G
Darrione Rogers, DePaul, Fr., G

*unanimous selection
^announced 3/3 – selected by the BIG EAST Academic Awards Selection Committee