PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- Villanova junior forward Maddy Siegrist was announced on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Year, while Saint Joseph's forward Talya Brugler was named Rookie of the Year, and Villanova head coach Denise Dillon was chosen as Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year.

The major award winners on the women's side include Siegrist, Brugler, and Dillon, in addition to Penn senior guard Mia Lakstigala being named the Most Improved Player and Temple's Emani Mayo earning Big 5 Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades.

Siegrist, is joined on the All-Big 5 first team by Temple forward Mia Davis, La Salle guard Kayla Spruill, Penn guard Kayla Padilla and Villanova forward Brianna Herlihy. 

The All-Big 5 second team features the Saint Joseph's duo of Brugler and Katie Jekot, along with Jordan Obi of Penn, Claire Jacobs from La Salle, Aniya Gourdine of Temple and Villanova's Lior Garzon.
 
Siegrist was recognized as the Big 5 leading scorer averaging 25.3 points per game. Spruill shot 86.0 percent (80-93) from the foul line and was the Big 5 leading free throw shooter.

Siegrist ranked second in the country in 2021-22 with a 25.3 points per game average to go with a 9.2 rebounds per contest average.  In 27 games, she had 12 double-doubles and scored 30 or more points in nine contests and 20 points or more on 21 occasions. In addition to being the BIG EAST Player of the Year, she earned third team All-American accolades. Brugler started 21 of the 30 games she played in and led the Hawks in both scoring with a 10.6 points per game average and rebounding at 5.7 rebounds per contest. For her efforts this season, Brugler was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year.

In her second year as the Villanova head coach, Dillon led the Wildcats to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 24-9 overall record and a 15-4 BIG EAST Conference mark which was good enough for a second place finish in the final league standings. The Wildcats also went 3-1 in Big 5 play to capture the city series title.

Lakstigala started 22 games this season for Penn and averaged 10.9 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per contest, while connecting on 47 three-point field goals. In Penn's last season of competition before this year in 2019-20, she averaged 3.5 points per game and 0.9 rebounds per contest and she made 10 field goals from behind the arc.

Mayo played in 27 games this season and averaged 4.3 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per contest in 25.7 minutes per game.
 
Philadelphia Big 5 Women's Basketball Award Winners
 
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova (Junior, Forward)
 
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Talya Brugler, Saint Joseph's (Freshman, Forward)
 
COACH OF THE YEAR
Denise Dillon, Villanova
 
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Mia Lakstigala, Penn (Senior, Guard)
 
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Emani Mayo, Temple (Grad Student, Guard)
 
LEADING SCORER
Maddy Siegrist (Villanova, Junior, Forward) 25.3 ppg.
 
LEADING FREE THROW SHOOTER
Kayla Spruill, La Salle (Senior, Guard) – 86.0 percent (80-of-93)
 
ALL-BIG 5 FIRST TEAM
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova
Brianna Herlihy, Villanova
Mia Davis, Temple
Kayla Spruill, La Salle
Kayla Padilla, Penn
 
ALL-BIG 5 SECOND TEAM
Talya Brugler, Saint Joseph's
Katie Jekot, Saint Joseph's
Claire Jacobs, La Salle
Jordan Obi, Penn
Aniya Gourdine, Temple
Lior Garzon, Villanova