The senior guard was also named to the All-Big East Second Team after leading the conference in steals
Lashae Dwyer was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the All-Big East Second Team by the conference on Thursday afternoon. Dwyer becomes the third Red Storm player ever to win Big East Defensive Player of the Year, joining the program’s all-time leading scorer Aliyyah Handford (who won in 2015-16) and Aaliyah Lewis (who won in 2016-17).
Transferring from Miami after three seasons in Coral Gables, Dwyer emerged as a premier perimeter defender with a nose for the ball on a unit with the 25th-best scoring defense in the country. The Toronto, Ontario, native leads the Big East with 3.0 steals per game, ranking eleventh nationally in that category, and has the fifth most single-season steals in Red Storm history with 88. According to Bart Torvik, Dwyer ranks in the top 100 nationally in adjusted defensive rating.
Dwyer also leads the Red Storm in scoring with 13.6 points per game and ranks second in rebounding with 4.2 boards per game while shooting 42.4% from the floor, 28.6% from three, and 81.7% from the free throw line.
The eighth-seeded St. John’s women’s basketball team (16-14, 5-13 Big East) will face ninth-seeded Butler Bulldogs (15-17, 5-13 Big East) in the first round of the Big East Tournament on Friday, March 7 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut (11 a.m., FloSports). The winner will face the first seed and the number three team in the country, UConn, at noon on Saturday on FS1.