SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA. — As dominant as the Gonzaga women's basketball team was this season on the court, they were equally as dominant off the court, winning nearly every major West Coast Conference award on Tuesday.
To start, star forward Yvonne Ejim was named WCC Player of the Year and WCC Defensive Player of the Year. Ejim won WCC Player of the Week six times this year, averaging 20 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game. Ejim shot 62.8% from the field in the regular season.
Head Coach Lisa Fortier was named WCC Coach of the Year for the sixth time in her career on Tuesday. Leading the Zags to a 29-2 record, this is the ninth season Fortier has won over 20 games during her time as head coach.
The final Zag to win a major award was Maud Hujibens, who won WCC Sixth Woman of the Year. Hujibens averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds off the bench, shooting 53.2% from the field and 38.1% from three.
Along with Ejim, three other Zags were named to the All-WCC first team: Brynna Maxwell, Kayleigh Truong and Kaylee Truong.
Maxwell, known as one of the best three-point shooters in the country, was the second-leading scorer for the Zags, trailing only Ejim and averaging 14.4 points per game. Maxwell shot a staggering 45.3% from three while also shooting 47.4% from the field.
Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong averaged 12.4 and 11.8 points per game respectively, and both also shot over 40% from behind the three-point arc.
Lastly, Eliza Hollingsworth was named to the All-WCC second team. The graduate student averaged 10 points per game in the regular season along with 7.1 rebounds per game.
You can find the whole list of who won the awards this season down below:
2023-24 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Major Individual Honors
Coach of the Year – Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga
Player of the Year – Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga
Newcomer of the Year – Freja Werth, Santa Clara
Defensive Player of the Year – Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga
Sixth Woman of the Year – Maud Huijbens, Gonzaga
WCC All-First Team
Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga
Debora dos Santos, San Francisco
Jasmine Gayles, San Francisco
Tess Heal, Santa Clara
Anaya James, Pacific
Brynna Maxwell, Gonzaga
Olivia Pollerd, Santa Clara
Emme Shearer, Portland
Kayleigh Truong, Gonzaga
Kaylynne Truong, Gonzaga
WCC All-Second Team
Zeryhia Aokuso, Saint Mary's
Maisie Burnham, Portland
Elizabeth Elliott, Pacific
Veronica Sheffey, San Diego
Eliza Hollingsworth, Gonzaga
All-WCC Freshman Team
Dyani Ananiev, Portland
Zeryhia Aokuso, Saint Mary's
Maia Jones, Saint Mary's
Maddie Naro, Santa Clara
Jorynn Ross, Pepperdine
Ejim, Fortier and the Zags return to action on Monday, March 11, as the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament. The Zags will play either Pepperdine, USD, Pacific or USF at noon on March 11.
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