March 4, 2010
WASHINGTON - Georgetown University freshman Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) and junior captain Monica McNutt (Suitland, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) were both selected to the All-BIG EAST team, the conference announced Thursday afternoon. Rodgers was the lone freshman on the first team and McNutt was selected to the second team. Rodgers was also a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST Freshman Team, one of five players to earn a unanimous spot on the squad.
Rodgers made an immediate impact in the conference ranking as one of the top scorers in the league almost the entire season. She is averaging 18.1 ppg and has scored in double figures in 29 of 30 games played. The freshman has been named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on five separate occasions as well as earned a spot on the league's weekly honor roll three times. She has made the most three's this season in program history with 79 and ranked as one of the top single-season scorers in Georgetown history with 543 points as a rookie.
The Suffolk, Va. native is also reliable at the free throw line, shooting 77.6 percent from the charity stripe and ranks third on the team in steals with 54.
Rodgers was one of only two freshmen to earn one of 21 spots on the first or second teams. She is the first Georgetown player to be selected First Team All-BIG EAST under Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy and the first Hoya since Rebekkah Brunson in 2004. Rodgers is the only Georgetown player to ever be named to the first team as a freshman.
"This is a great way for Sugar (Rodgers) to start her career," said Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "It's truly something for her to be proud of and also gives her more to work towards in the future."
McNutt was selected to the second team after averaging 11.6 ppg and posting a team-high 72 steals. McNutt led the Hoyas in scoring seven times this season including a 26-point performance in the win at Cincinnati. She has hit 60 three's so far this season to rank seventh on the all-time list and is also seventh on the career tally with 131. The junior ranks second on the team in scoring and leads the team in free throw percentage shooting 85.7 percent at the line.
The last Georgetown player to earn a spot on the second team was Kieraah Marlow in 2007.
"Monica (McNutt) is deserving of this award," said Williams-Flournoy. "She has worked incredibly hard over the first three years of her career. She's our defensive stopper and makes the team go."
The Hoyas finished the season tied for second in the conference and has earned the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. Georgetown has earned a double bye and will open the tournament on Sunday in the quarterfinals at 8 p.m. at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
The BIG EAST will announce additional award winners tomorrow evening at the press conference between the first and second sessions of the tournament.
