Ahead of the BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament on March 7, the BIG EAST announced its Women’s Basketball Annual Awards on Thursday, with three members of Seton Hall women’s basketball recognized.
Junior guard Savannah Catalon led the Pirates with two recognitions, earning a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team, while also being named to the conference’s first-ever All-Defensive Team.
If Catalon took a jump from her freshman to sophomore season, then what the Mansfield, Texas native did in her third-year as a Pirate was a major leap.
Starting all 29 of The Hall’s games this season, Catalan set new single-season career highs in nearly every statistical category: she averaged 13.7 points per game on shooting splits of 40.8%, 34.5% and a conference-best 89.4% from the line, to go with 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.7 steals.
But Catalon’s leap was not only limited to her offensive production—the junior guard was the anchor of SHU’s defense as well. With 79 total steals, Catalan is tied for the sixth-most in a single season in program history, while most of her 6.6 fouls drawn per game this season resulted in offensive turnovers for SHU’s opponents.
Catalon’s All-Defensive Team performance, however, is no surprise considering what she nearly achieved last season: had she not missed several games due to injury, Catalon likely would have led the BIG EAST in steals per game by a wide margin, and may have even had a strong case for BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.
Catalon was one of the conference’s darlings this season, being named Preseason All-BIG EAST and landing on the Weekly Honor Roll a team-high five times. She also earned extensive praise from her head coach, Anthony Bozzella, who seized every opportunity to commend SHU’s team captain during the season’s early stages.
“She’s one of the best players I’ve ever coached,” Bozzella said about Catalon after she dropped a season-high 24 points against Xavier on Dec. 28. “No one tries harder, no one wants to win more, no one’s a better human being.”
Also a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team was graduate forward Mariana Valenzuela, who joined The Hall as one of three transfers with the most experience, having spent the last three seasons at Florida State and making several appearances for Mexico’s national team.
Like Catalon, Valenzuela started all 29 of the Pirates’ games, averaging 12.9 points per game on 47% shooting from the field and 38.7% from 3-point range. She also had a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game, while leading SHU in rebounding 18 times and notching four double-doubles.
Named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice and the Player of the Week once, Valenzuela led The Hall in scoring nine times, including a 25-point, 13-rebound double-double against Butler on Dec. 4, 23 points at Creighton on Dec. 22 and a career-high 26 points against Marquette on Jan. 14.
“She works every day,” Bozzella said about Valenzuela after her performance against Butler. “[She] doesn’t say a word. She’s only been here two months [and] as a person, she’s right up there with all of them [SHU’s greats].”
To round out the Pirates’ awards, Zahara Bishop was named to the All-Freshman Team after being named the conference’s Freshman of the Week three times this season. She joins Catalon and sophomore guard Jada Eads as the third-straight Pirate to be recognized on the All-Freshman Team.
Starting in 16 games but playing in all 29, Bishop averaged 8.4 points per game and 3.3 rebounds this season.
When Eads went down with a lower leg injury at DePaul on Jan. 17 that sidelined her for the rest of the season, Bishop saw her role increase from the Pirates’ first option off the bench to the starting lineup.
What followed was two of the Minneapolis, Minnesota native’s best performances of the season, with a breakout performance of 21 points the same game Eads got injured and 20 at Marquette on Feb. 11.
“Zahara Bishop is a freshman—but she doesn’t play like a freshman,” Bozzella said ahead of the season. “[She] plays very confidently, [and she] is one of the best scoring freshmen we've ever recruited.”
Having gone 18-11 in the regular season, and 12-8 in conference play, Bishop, Catalon, Valenzuela and the Pirates will return to the hardwood on March 7, when they face either No. 6 St. John’s or No. 11 Xavier at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut in the quarterfinal-round of the BIG EAST Tournament.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
