UConn overwhelming pick in Big East women’s basketball preseason poll; Christyn Williams of Huskies tabbed top player

NEW YORK – Connecticut is officially back in Big East Conference and it starts with the preseason women’s basketball accolades.

The Big East Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll was announced with 11-time national champion Connecticut the unanimous favorite to win the league. The Huskies, who will begin their first season of Big East play since 2012-13, have won the conference regular season 19 times, along with 18 BIG EAST Tournament titles. UConn collected 100 points and 10 first-place votes to top the preseason poll.

Six-time and reigning BIG EAST regular-season champion DePaul finished second in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll with 90 points and the remaining first-place vote. Blue Demon rival Marquette, which has advanced to four consecutive Big East Tournament title games, was slotted third with 83 points. St. John’s followed in fourth place with 69 points, while Creighton rounded out the top five with 60 points. The Bluejays narrowly edged out sixth-place Seton Hall with 59 points, followed by Villanova in seventh with 44. Butler (eighth, 37 points), Xavier (ninth, 31 points), Providence (10^th, 22 points) and Georgetown (11^th, 10 points) followed.

In a shortened 2019-20 season, UConn went 29-3 overall and 16-0 in their final season of American Athletic Conference play, winning the AAC Tournament for the seventh straight year. The Huskies return five letterwinners from that squad, three of which were starters, including Big East Preseason Player of the Year Christyn Williams, who averaged 14.6 points per game a season ago. UConn also has a pair of notable newcomers in 2020 Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year and nationally top-ranked incoming freshman Paige Bueckers, along with Tennessee transfer and 2017 USA Today National Player of the Year Evina Westbrook. The Huskies spent 18 of 20 weeks in the top five of the Associated Press Poll last season, including three weeks at the No. 1 slot before finishing the season ranked fifth. Connecticut last competed in the BIG EAST in 2012-13, going 14-2 and finishing runner-up in the BIG EAST Tournament.

DePaul won its third consecutive BIG E Tournament crown this past March, clinching what would have been its 18^th consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament. The trophy was its fifth in the last seven years. The Blue Demons went 15-3 in Big East play to claim their sixth regular-season crown in the last seven years, posting a 28-5 overall record and climbing as high as No. 11 in the AP Top 25 before finishing the year ranked 15^th. DePaul returns 12 letterwinners including three starters from that squad, highlighted by reigning conference tournament Most Outstanding Player Lexi Held (15.4 ppg) and Second Team performer Sonya Morris (15.6 ppg). The Blue Demons will also benefit from notable newcomer Darrione Rogers, a two-time All-State guard who averaged 25.9 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at Lake Park West in nearby Roselle, Ill.

After being picked to finish ninth in the 2019-20 preseason poll, Marquette stunned by going 13-5 in conference play and advancing to its fourth consecutive conference tournament final. The Golden Eagles looked well on their way to a national postseason berth after going 24-8 on the year and earning votes in both national polls. Marquette returns eight letterwinners including three starters from that squad, highlighted by leading scorer and Second Team honoree Selena Lott (15.5 ppg) and All-Tournament Team selection Lauren Van Kleunen (11.8 ppg).

St. John’s is coming off its first trip to the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals since 2017, finishing the year 19-12 overall and in the five-way logjam in third place with an 11-7 conference record. The Red Storm return two starters and 10 total letterwinners from the squad, including their top two scorers in Qadashah Hoppie (15.4) and Leilani Correa (12.7). Hoppie was an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection while Correa claimed the BIG EAST Sixth-Woman Award, while also earning spots on the All-Freshman Team and All-Tournament Team. St. John’s will have the added benefit this year of a pair of junior college transfers from Northwest Florida in Fapou Semebene who averaged just shy of a double-double, and Rayven Peeples, an honorable mention NJCAA All-American.

Creighton joined St. John’s in that five-way tie for third with an 11-7 BIG EAST record in 2019-20, going 19-11 overall and bowing out to the Red Storm in the conference tournament quarterfinals. The Bluejays return three starters and a total of nine letterwinners from a season ago. Seton Hall mirrored St. John’s with a 19-12 overall mark and 11-7 conference finish, advancing to the Big East Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2016 before being edged by eventual champion DePaul. The Pirates graduate their top two scorers from that squad but welcome back Desiree Elmore, who tallied a team-high six double-doubles in 2019-20 and averaged 13.0 points, 7.2 rebounds overall.

After 42 years, Villanova is under the direction of a new head coach following the retirement of Harry Perretta. Wildcat alumna Denise Dillon takes the reins after a successful tenure at crosstown foe Drexel. VU overcame a slow start to finish 18-13 overall and 11-7 in conference play a season ago, highlighted by the emergence of Maddy Siegrist who enjoyed one of the most notable freshman campaigns in league history. Siegrist averaged 18.8 points per game, breaking a number of program rookie scoring standards throughout the year. Butler once again exceeded expectations, finishing in the five-way tie for third place at 11-7 after being picked seventh in the preseason poll. The Bulldogs, who went 19-11 overall, will look to excel once again this year, welcoming back two of their top three scorers in Oumou Toure (9.1 ppg) and Genesis Parker (9.0). In total, Butler returns seven letterwinners, while adding pivotal pieces in NJCAA All-American Okako Adika and Tenley Dowell, who played just one game for Butler in ’19-20 before suffering a season-ending injury.

Xavier will look to improve upon a 3-27 overall, 2-16 subpar conference season a year ago and will have arguably the most veteran lineup in the conference. The Musketeers return all five starters and nine letterwinners, highlighted by All-Bg East honoree A’riana Gray. After winning eight of its first nine non-league games, Providence stumbled in Big East play to fall to 13-19 on the year and a 3-15 eighth-place conference finish. The Friars won a conference tournament game for the second straight year for the first time since 1994-95, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion DePaul. PC returns top scorer and rebounder Mary Baskerville, who averaged 11.8 points, 7.6 rebounds over 28 games last season. Georgetown posted a 5-25 overall record and tied with Xavier at 2-16 for ninth place in the standings. The Hoyas return seven letterwinners, while Anita Kelava is the lone returning starter. Kelava is among the Big East blocks leader, totaling triple digit denials in just two seasons on the Hilltop. Georgetown boosts its lineup with Princeton grad transfer Taylor Baur.

Williams leads preseason player honor roll

Additionally, Connecticut junior guard Christyn Williams was named the 2020-2021 Bg East Preseason Player of the Year. Williams is the top returner for the preseason favorite Huskies, averaging 14.6 points over 32 games last year. Teammate Paige Bueckers was unanimously selected Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year, with Bueckers being the nation’s top-ranked recruit in the 2020 class.

Williams started 31 of 32 games last year for the Huskies, averaging 14.6 points off .457 shooting while adding 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. She reached the 20-point mark nine times in 2019-20, second-most among Huskies, and led UConn in scoring six times last season. The 5-11 junior guard was a first team All-AAC selection in 2019-20, and was voted to the 2020 AAC All-Tournament Team.

A 5-11 guard, Bueckers boasts an astounding list of accolades, including the nation’s No. 1 recruit by espnW, 2019-20 Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, 2020 All-American (McDonald’s, SLAM, Jordan Brand), 2019 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, 2019 FBIA U19 World Cup MVP and a three-time Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year. Bueckers averaged 21.0 points, 9.2 assists, 5.2 steals and 5.1 rebounds per game for Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minn., as a senior, guiding her team to a 30-0 record and the Class AAAA state championship game, which was canceled due to coronavirus.

Preseason All-Big East Team

Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Connecticut, Jr., F

Evina Westbrook, Connecticut, R-Jr., G

Temi Carda, Creighton, Sr., G

Lexi Held, DePaul, Jr., G

Sonya Morris, DePaul, Jr., G*

Selena Lott, Marquette, Sr., G*

Leilani Correa, St. John’s, So., G

Qadashah Hoppie, St. John’s, Sr., G*

Desiree Elmore, Seton Hall, Sr., G/F*

Maddy Siegrist, Villanova, So., F*

A’riana Gray, Xavier, Sr., F

^extra player added due to a tie in voting

*unanimous selection