Mercury's Taurasi And Others Shine In Big East Tournament

The Big East has had several stars, and some of them had the chance to shine in the Big East Tournament. This tournament began in 1983, and when it came to the championship game, St. John's defeated Providence. It was a good game, and in the end, St. John's picked up a 74-63 win. Debbie Beckford helped her team win, and she won the Most Outstanding Player. At the time, it was known as the Most Valuable Player. Over the years, there were some other greats who won the award, as Rebecca Lobo won in 1994. She would join the New York Liberty later on, and she became the third UConn player to win the award. After Lobo's win, UConn had a phenomenal run, and a UConn player won the award eight years in a row. The Phoenix Mercury were represented in 2001, as Diana Taurasi won Most Outstanding Player. UConn beat Notre Dame 78-76 in that game, and Sue Bird made a shot at the buzzer. That was Taurasi's first season, and she averaged 10.9 points, 3.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals. She had a nice performance in UCon