Villanova women’s basketball: Gedaka clinches Big East Sixth Woman Award

Mary Gedaka, the 6-foot-1 sophomore from Mullica Hill N.J., was announced Wednesday afternoon to win the Big East Sixth Woman Award, for her play coming off the bench.

Gedaka is the Wildcats’ second-highest scorer behind her teammate Alex Louin, despite not being part of the starting five. As noted, she hit the double-digit scoring mark in 12 of the last 14 games of the regular season. She has come off the bench in all but one game this year.

This year, Gedaka and the Wildcats are looking to surpass last year’s semifinal ending in the WNIT, with hopes to make it to the NCAA tournament this spring. With Gedaka’s improvement in categories such as finishing shots, outside shooting, and rebounding, she is looking solid—providing a boost whenever she checks into the game. She leads the Big East Conference with a shooting percentage of 60.3.

Gedaka does an excellent job in coming filling the role of whoever she subs for. She comes onto the court with the mindset to “keep it simple,” producing the most points possible filling right in.

It was a big step up from her freshman season, when she appeared in all 35 games, but only averaged 14.1 minutes per game. She only averaged 5.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in the 2016-17 season.

Big East individual accolades:

Player of the Year
Allazia Blockton, Marquette

Defensive Player of the Year
Dionna White, Georgetown

Most Improved Player
Cynthia Petke, Georgetown

Sportsmanship Award
Lauren Prochaska, DePaul

Sixth Woman Award
Mary Gedaka, Villanova