Mohegan — UConn's Nika Muhl was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, the day before the start of the conference tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena.

In addition, seniors Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Christyn Williams were named to the All-Big East first team, Caroline Ducharme and Azzi Fudd were named to the Big East All-Freshman team and Ducharme garnered All-Big East second team honors.

Muhl, a sophomore guard, keyed a UConn defense which allowed just 55.4 points per-game, including 50.8 in conference games. She ranks third in the Big East with 2.2 steals per game (UConn leads the league with 11 per game) and was a big reason why the Huskies have a +4.59 turnover margin and force almost 18 turnovers per game.

It marked the 11th time a UConn has earned the top defensive award, including Nelson-Ododa last year.

Williams was a unanimous first-team pick, leading UConn with 14.9 points per game and 16.3 points per game in Big East games. Williams shot 50.5 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three-point range in league games and has scored in double digits in all but one of UConn's conference games.

Nelson-Ododa averaged 10.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in Big East games while shooting 61.1 percent from the floor. She is also leading the Big East in blocks per game (1.9) and ranks sixth with 4.0 assists per game.

Ducharme stepped up for UConn in her first season, averaging 13.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14 conference games, while Fudd returned from injury against DePaul on Jan. 26 and spent the rest of the regular season as a major scoring threat. She scored in double digits in nine of the 11 conference games she played in while shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from three. Fudd ranked second on UConn with 14.2 points per game in conference games.

UConn, the top seed, will open play on Saturday at noon (FS1) against the winner of Friday's first-round game between No. 8 Providence and No. 9 Georgetown.

The other major awards went to Villanova's Maddy Siegrist (Player of the Year), DePaul's Aneesah Morrow (Freshman of the Year), Villanova's Denise Dillon (Coach of the Year), Creighton's Morgan Maly (Sixth-Woman Award), Creighton's Lauren Jensen and Villanova's Lior Garzon (Co-Most Improved Players) and Marquettes Chloe Marotta (Sportsmanship Award).

• The Big East also announced it was adjusting its COVID-19 protocols for the four-day tournament. Fans will no longer have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test for entry into the arena and that although wearing a mask is recommended, it is not required.