Townsend Named BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year

NEW YORK - Xavier redshirt-junior forward Ayanna Townsend was named the 2021-22 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Wednesday. Townsend becomes the first Musketeer to earn the academic merit. The selection was made by the Conference's Academic Awards Selection Committee. Townsend will receive a $2,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies.

Pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science, Townsend carries a 3.88 cumulative grade point average. The BIG EAST All-Academic Team selection has already been accepted into multiple graduate schools in which she will work towards a degree in occupational therapy. Townsend has been named to the Dean's List for eight consecutive semesters and earned Xavier's Student Athlete Achievers Award for this academic year.

On the court, the Xavier team captain is averaging 8.8 points and 5.3 rebounds over 26 games played this season. She has started in 24 of 26 games, and ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in rebounding and shooting percentage (.475).

Townsend is a leader off the court as well – an attribute the Academic Awards Selection Committee was particularly impressed with. She is a member of Xavier' Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), I.D.E.A. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Awareness) and L.E.A.D. (Ladies with Emphasis on Achievement and Distinction). The redshirt-junior is the co-founder of the Black Student-Athlete Group and BSAG Mentorship program. She has participated in QPR Suicide Prevention Training and after-school and summer camps in her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa. Townsend is CPR certified and interned with the Xavier Strength and Conditioning Department. She plans on getting her National Strength and Conditioning Association certification and then take the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy to become an occupational therapist.

The BIG EAST Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the BIG EAST Conference during the 2021-22 academic year. In addition, 22 student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST's 11 member institutions) will receive postgraduate scholarships as the winners of their respective institutions' Scholar-Athlete Award. The winners of the institutional awards are then eligible for the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, which provides an additional postgraduate scholarship to one male and one female student-athlete.

All-Time BIG EAST Women's Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year
1984-85 - Leigh Curl - Connecticut
1985-86 - Joan Powers - Providence
1986-87 - Kathy Sweet - Boston College
1987-88 - Vera Jones - Syracuse
1988-89 - Geraldine Santilius - Seton Hall
1989-90 - Angela Alston - Syracuse
1990-91 - Carla Wenger - Boston College
1991-92 - Wendy Davis - Connecticut
1992-93 - Erin Kenneally - Syracuse
1993-94 - Rebecca Lobo - Connecticut
1994-95 - Rebecca Lobo - Connecticut
1995-96 - Jennifer Rizzotti - Connecticut
1996-97 - Kristyn Cook - Syracuse
1997-98 - Raquel Nurse - Syracuse
1998-99 - Rebecca Burbridge - West Virginia
1999-2000 - Cal Bouchard - Boston College
2000-01 - Ruth Riley - Notre Dame
2001-02 - Nicole Conway - Boston College
2002-03 - Alicia Ratay - Notre Dame
2003-04 - Courtney Mix - Villanova
2004-05 - Ashley Bush - Seton Hall
2005-06 - Megan Duffy - Notre Dame
2006-07 - Jenna Rubino - DePaul
2007-08 - Allie Quigley - DePaul
2008-09 - Jill Stephens - Cincinnati
2009-10 - Maya Moore - Connecticut
2010-11 - Maya Moore - Connecticut
2011-12 - Da'Shena Stevens - St. John's
2012-13 - Anna Martin - DePaul
2013-14 - Katherine Plouffe - Marquette
2014-15 - Brittany Hrynko - DePaul
2015-16 - Megan Podkowa - DePaul
2016-17 - Brooke Schulte - DePaul
2017-18 - Allazia Blockton - Marquette
2018-19 - Allazia Blockton - Marquette
2019-20 - Chante Stonewall - DePaul
2020-21 - Lexi Held - DePaul
2021-22 - Ayanna Townsend - Xavier

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