Marquette women’s basketball head coach Cara Consuegra earned the Big East Coach of the Year award, splitting the honor with UConn’s Geno Auriemma, according to conference officials.
The Golden Eagles were picked to finish second to last in the Big East but finished fourth in the conference’s standings behind a 20-win regular season, with a 12-6 Big East record in Consuegra’s first season at the helm.
Consuegra becomes the fourth MU head coach to win conference coach of the year, joining Terri Mitchell (Big East 2007, Conference USA 1998, 2000), Carolyn Kieger (Big East 2018) and Megan Duffy (Big East 2020).
Sophomore Skylar Forbes earned a spot on the All-Big East First Team, and senior Lee Volker attained her place on the All-Big East Second Team after the conclusion of conference play. These selections come after no Marquette players were nominated to the 2024-25 Preseason All-Big East team.
Forbes was named to the Big East’s Weekly Honor Roll five times throughout the course of the season, she averaged 15 points, additionally nearly six rebounds and two assists per game for the Golden Eagles, including five games where she scored over 20 points. Mainly playing the five, Forbes showcased her variety in shot selection by also shooting 33% beyond the arc.
Volker had three back-to-back appearances on the Big East’s Weekly Honor Roll in December, also emerging as a versatile piece for the Golden Eagles, averaging 13 points, 4.8 rebounds and three assists per game. Consuegra said that Volker’s dynamic ability as the team’s Swiss Army Knife was a key piece of the Golden Eagles’ ascension beyond preseason expectations, after Marquette’s senior night win against Xavier on Feb. 27.
“I think her mentality for so long was to be a scorer, because that’s what she did, and she was really good at it, we had the mentality when we got to know her to be more than that, she has the ability to score in a variety of ways, but I think Lee is a fantastic rebounder,” Consuegra said. “I think she is a great playmaker, her defense has grown so much this year, and after Olivia Porter, she’s our second kid that we put on a really good player. No way I would’ve done that in the summer, but she’s bought in and done everything we’ve asked her to do, and she’s become a complete player.”
Marquette (20-9, 12-6 Big East) begins Big East Tournament play on Mar. 8, against Villanova (17-13, 11-7 Big East), with both teams winning the regular season contest on their home floor. Tip-off is set for 1:30 p.m. CST from Mohegan Sun Arena.
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached at michael.severson@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU
