England and Bailey Honored by BIG EAST

The BIG EAST released its annual end-of-season awards on Wednesday and the St. John's women's basketball team was well-represented, as Tiana England earned All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention and Kadaja Bailey landed a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.

England, the conference's leader in assists, becomes the fourth Johnnie in program history to earn a spot on the leagues' honorable-mention list and the third to do so during the Joe Tartamella era. The 5-foot-7 point guard joins a trio of St. John's greats on the list of honorable mentions in Monique McLean (2006-07), Amber Thompson (2013-14) and Aaliyah Lewis (2016-17).

The Stamford, Conn., native has played major minutes for the Johnnies this season, leading the conference with 36.8 minutes per game. England has maintained her spot as the conference's leading facilitator, pacing the league in assists with 5.7 per game. Her 5.7 dimes per outing place her inside the top-25 in the NCAA. The redshirt sophomore has dished out a combined 164 assists this year, just seven shy of her total from last year, to rank 16th in all of Division I.

In addition to her facilitating ability, the Stamford, Conn., native has provided the Red Storm with stellar shooting this year, averaging 10.9 points per contest. She is one of four Johnnies boasting double figures this season and sits second on the team in scoring. England has reached double figures in 15 games this year and eclipsed the 20-point mark in two of the team's final five regular-season contests.

A force on the defensive end, the Stamford, Conn., native also led the Johnnies in steals over the year, recording 1.5 thefts per outing.

Bailey, the Preseason BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, has be recognized as one of the top-five rookies in the conference following regular-season play. With the accolade, the Red Storm has now placed at least one student-athlete on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team in each of the last three years.

The Long Beach native burst onto the scene early for the Red Storm, recording a double-double in her first collegiate appearance with 14 points and 13 boards against Iona in the season opener (Nov. 9). The St. John's rookie grabbed her second double-double of the year during conference play, as she tallied 11 points and 12 rebounds during the Red Storm's win over Xavier (Jan. 4).

This year, Bailey has finished with double-digit scoring on seven different occasions and has paced the Red Storm on the glass three times. For her efforts this year, Bailey earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week twice.

Bailey is averaging 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds off the bench for the Red Storm, shooting 43.6 percent from the floor.

St. John's kicks off BIG EAST Tournament action on Saturday, taking on Seton Hall at 3 p.m. ET in Chicago. The game will be live streamed on BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN).

St. John's University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Kadaja Bailey

Tiana England

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