NEWPORT NEWS, Va.—Fordham’s Bre Cavanaugh was named the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Player of the Year while Dayton head coach Shauna Green was voted A-10 Coach of the Year. The league announced its annual awards Thursday in advance of the A-10 Championship heading to UD Arena on the campus of the University of Dayton for the quarterfinals, semifinals and final, which begin Friday.
 
VCU’s Danielle Hammond was named the Defensive Player of the Year, while her teammate Madison Hattix-Covington received Sixth Woman of the Year honors. Saint Louis senior Kendra Wilken was named the league’s Most Improved Player and Davidson’s Suzi-Rose Deegan was named Rookie of the Year. Also announced were First, Second and Third-Team All-Conference, All-Defensive Team, All-Rookie Team and All-Academic Team.
 
The major awards, three All-Conference teams, All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams were all nominated and voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches. The women’s basketball sports information directors selected the All-Academic team.
 
Cavanaugh, a redshirt junior from Allamuchy, N.J., led the A-10 in scoring at 19.5 points per game and ranks sixth in the NCAA in final points with 586. She also had the highest free throw percentage in the league at .872 and played the most minutes this season at an A-10 leading 38.7 per game, which ranks fourth in the nation.
 
Green, in her fourth season leading the Flyers, led Dayton to a 21-8 overall record and 15-1 in the Atlantic 10. Dayton won the regular season title and claimed the top seed for the A-10 championship.
 
Hammond, a senior from Philadelphia, helped anchor a VCU defense that ranks third in the A-10 in scoring defense (.571). Hammond also led the league in field goal percentage at .637, and ranked second in blocks with 76 or 2.60 per game.
 
Hattix-Convington, a redshirt sophomore from Killeen, Texas, averaged 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 25.9 minutes per game while coming off the bench for the Rams. She also had 33 steals and 27 assists on the season.
 
Wilken, a senior from Bartelso, Ill., earned Most Improved honors this season after going from averaging five points and three rebounds in 12 minutes last season to 12 points and eight rebounds per game along with starting every game and averaging 30 minutes per contest. Kendra led the Billikens to the No. 4 seed as captain and one of only four upperclassmen on the team.
 
Deegan, a freshman from Marmion, Australia, led the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest, both of which rank fifth in the A-10 and lead all freshmen. Deegan earned a program record seven A-10 Rookie of the Week awards, with two 30-point games, six 20-point games, and six double-doubles.
 
The 2020 Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals begin Friday with games available on ESPN+. The semifinals begin Saturday at 11:00 am on CBS Sports Network and the championship final is Sunday at Noon on ESPNU. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting daytonflyers.com/tickets. For more information, visit championship central at atlantic10.com

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Bre Cavanaugh, Fordham
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Danielle Hammond, VCU
 
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Suzi-Rose Deegan, Davidson
 
COACH OF THE YEAR
Shauna Green, Dayton
 
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kendra Wilken, Saint Louis
 
SIXTH WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Madison Hattix-Covington, VCU      
 
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Suzi-Rose Deegan, Davidson
Jayla Scaife, Dayton
Bre Cavanaugh, Fordham
Nicole Jorgensen, Rhode Island
Ciaja Harbison, Saint Louis
Tera Reed, VCU
 
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Erin Whalen, Dayton
Libby Bazelak, Duquesne
Nicole Cardano-Hillary, George Mason
Sam Breen, Massachusetts
Hailey Leidel, Massachusetts
Danielle Hammond, VCU
 
ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM
Katie Turner, Davidson
Kendell Heremaia, Fordham
Davida Dale, Rhode Island
Jaide Hinds-Clarke, Richmond
Kendra Wilken, Saint Louis
Taya Robinson, VCU
 
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM*
Jayla Scaife, Dayton
Araion Bradshaw, Dayton
Nina Aho, Duquesne
Shalina Miller, La Salle
Danielle Hammond, VCU
Taya Robinson, VCU
 
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Suzi-Rose Deegan, Davidson
Anna DeWolfe, Fordham
Mayowa Taiwo, George Washington
Claire Jacobs, La Salle
Rachel Kent, Saint Louis
 
ALL-ACADEMIC
Libby Bazelak, Duquesne
Hailey Leidel, Massachusetts
Erin Whalen, Dayton
Sarah Kaminski, George Mason
Zara Jillings, Fordham