West Virginia women’s basketball junior Asya Bussie, redshirt-sophomore Christal Caldwell and freshman Linda Stepney earned All-BIG EAST honors today as announced by the BIG EAST Conference.
Bussie becomes coach Mike Carey’s sixth All-BIG EAST First Team selection. At center, Bussie leads the team in scoring this season with 12.1 points per game and is the second-leading rebounder as she averages 6.6 rebounds per game. The co-captain has collected 68 blocked shots this season, leading the blocking efforts with 2.4 per game, the second-most in the league and 24th-best nationally.
The Randallstown, Md., native currently ranks second in WVU’s all-time record books with 194 blocked shots and is 16 points away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone, becoming the 28th player to do so in Mountaineer program history. Bussie has started all 98 games with 46 games scoring in double figures and seven reaching double-digit rebounding numbers in her three-season career. She has collected seven career double-doubles and led WVU to its biggest win in program history with a career-best 22 points at No. 2/2 Notre Dame this season.
Caldwell was named All-BIG EAST honorable mention in her first season as a Mountaineer. The Charlotte, N.C., native is WVU’s second-leading scorer with 11.9 points per game and the third-leading rebounder with 6.2 boards per game. A guard, Caldwell has recorded 19 double-figure scoring games, including three 20-point or better outings this season. She has led the Mountaineers in scoring on seven occasions and has recorded a pair of double-doubles. Caldwell has earned 22 starts and played in all 29 games.
Stepney was named to the All-BIG EAST Freshman Team. The Norfolk, Va., native earned 23 starts at point guard as a true freshman. She helped WVU with a career-best 14 points, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range, in the win over No. 14/12 Louisville this season. Stepney has dished out 76 assists, the second-most on the team and holds the highest 3-point field goal percentage of 55 percent (11-20).
Earning a first round bye, the fifth-seeded West Virginia women’s basketball team will face the winner of the No.12/13 bracket of Syracuse and Providence on Saturday, March 3 at noon, at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
WVU’s game will be broadcast live on BIG EAST TV and will stream live free at www.bigeast.org. Locally, Fox affiliate WVFX will carry the game live and Root Sports will show the game later in the day. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds held on March 4-5 will be on ESPNU, while the championship game on Tuesday, March 6 at 7 p.m., will be carried live on ESPN/ESPN2.