Eleah Parker has been named Big 5 Player of the Year and First-Team All-Big 5. The sophomore center averaged 15.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game—all team highs. She recorded 11 double-doubles on the season and her 99 blocks tied the single-season school record. Her 3.19 blocks per game ranked third in the nation. She was also selected Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year.
Senior forward Princess Aghayere has been chosen as the Big 5’s Most Improved Player and Second-Team All-Big 5. In her first year as a starter, Aghayere ranked second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.0 points and 6.9 boards per game. Both numbers were upgrades from her junior year, when she averaged 4.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest.
A Second-Team All-Big 5 honoree, senior guard Ashley Russell was third on the team in scoring (11.0 points per game), third in rebounding (6.3 per game), and first in assists (4.3 per game). Her 132 assists this season are the third-highest in Penn women’s basketball history. She also led the team with 57 steals, and her 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio was tops in the Ivy League.
For the fourth time, Head Coach Mike McLaughlin has been selected Big 5 Coach of the Year. The 2018-19 Quakers tied a school record with 24 wins, won their fourth conference championship in the last sixth seasons, made it to their third straight Ivy League Championship Game, and advanced to postseason play for the seventh consecutive year. His Quakers teams have won 20 games in each of the past six seasons. McLaughlin was also named Ivy League Coach of the Year.
Honorees will be recognized at the annual Philadelphia Big 5 Awards Banquet and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Monday, April 15, at the Palestra.
When the Schuylkill swallowed the city: Lessons from Hurricane Ida’s historic flood
New Penn research shows that Hurricane Ida wasn’t a once-in-a-century anomaly but a preview of how climate change, urbanization, and aging infrastructure are rewriting flood risk.
The Fed explained: What it does and why it matters
Former Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and financial historian Peter Conti-Brown, both Wharton professors, unpack the central bank’s origins, its unusual structure, and the quiet ways it shapes the economy
How population changes are impacting primary education worldwide
Research from Penn sociologist Emily Hannum and colleagues reveals regional trends in whether school-age populations are increasing, plateauing, or decreasing—and shows how different countries are responding.
A bioengineered bean gum from the lab of Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell is found to reduce the levels of three microbes associated with head and neck squamous cell cancer to almost zero, without affecting the beneficial bacteria normally found in the mouth.
Fighting oral cancer with bioengineered chewing gum
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell shows that antiviral and antibacterial chewing gums reduce the levels of three microbes linked to worse outcomes in oral cancers, paving the way for more effective and affordable therapies.
