A pair of BIG EAST women's basketball players, St. John's senior Joy McCorvey and DePaul senior Deirdre Naughton, have been named Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidates.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School^TM, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The list of 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community and competition.

McCorvey has a 3.42 grade point average and is majoring in childhood/special education. She was a 2008-09 BIG EAST Academic All-Star, earning a GPA of 3.0 or higher. She has been on the President's Honor Roll from 2006-present, and earned the Athletic Director's Silver Medallion in fall 2008 for posting a GPA between 3.5-3.99. McCorvey was a 2008-09 third team Arthur Ashe Diversity in Education recipient, which honors student-athletes who have demonstrated athletic ability and achievements, in addition to academic excellence in the classroom and service to the community. In January 2009, McCorvey earned the BIG EAST Institutional Basketball Scholar-Athlete award.

Naughton, who boasts a 3.235 GPA, begins her senior season on some of the most prestigious preseason lists.   The Winnetka, Ill. native was named to a preseason John R. Wooden candidate and to the Wade Watch List.  Naughton is also a preseason Sporting News third team All-American and was recently named a preseason Associated Press honorable mention.  The senior was also named to the preseason All-BIG EAST team.

Off the court, Naughton helped organize a Lenten food and clothing drive with former teammate Missy Mitidiero.  The pair collected canned goods and apparel and donated it to the St. Vincent DePaul Center.  As a member of DePaul's Captains' Council, Naughton has been part of DePaul's initiative to make sack lunches for the homeless. She has helped feed the homeless at DePaul's soup kitchen and participated in neighborhood community service projects.  As a member of the women's basketball team, she has participated in Misericordia Candy Days.