TheAmerican.org/WBB

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – UConn nearly swept the American Athletic Conference’s Women’s Basketball major awards as sophomore forward Breanna Stewart and Head Coach Geno Auriemma received Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors, respectively. Rutgers guard Tyler Scaife took home the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year award.
 
Stewart, the American Preseason Player of the Year and AP Preseason All-American, averaged 8.5 rebounds and a team-best 19.8 points per game in conference play. The Syracuse, N.Y. native finished second in the league in scoring and become the fifth sophomore in UConn history to hit the 1,000 career-point mark. Stewart was a unanimous all-conference first team selection and led her team to the inaugural American regular-season championship. She was named the 2013 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year and is a finalist for the Naismith, Wade and Wooden Awards.
 
Scaife is first in scoring (13.7 points) and field goal percentage (46 percent) among the league’s freshmen. She received American Freshman of the Week honors five times this season and leads her team in free-throw percentage (74 percent) while ranking second in scoring and assists (3.0 assists per game). In conference games, the point guard scored 15.1 points per game and hit the 20-point plateau on five occasions. Scaife garnered all-conference second team honors and was a unanimous pick for the all-freshman team.
 
In his 29th year of coaching, Auriemma led his team to an unbeaten regular season and the inaugural league title. His squad finished 31-0 for their ninth-consecutive 30-win season and is ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls. His team boasts three Naismith National Semifinalists, four players on the Wade Trophy Watch List and two Nancy Lieberman Award finalists. UConn has won 37 conference championships and are currently on a 37-game win streak dating back to last season. The streak is the third longest in program history.