UCU WCC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | MEN’S BRACKET | WOMEN’S BRACKET
SAN MATEO, Calif. – BYU sophomore
Shaylee Gonzales and Gonzaga senior
Jenn Wirth were Co-Players of the Year while Gonzales’ coach
Jeff Judkins earned Coach of the Year honors. Wirth’s teammate
Melody Kempton captured the inaugural Sixth Woman of the Year award while Pacific’s
Valerie Higgins was named Defensive Player of the Year and sharpshooting freshman
Ioanna Krimili of San Francisco secured Newcomer of the Year recognition.
All five major individual awards – along with the All-West Coast Conference Teams and the All-Freshman Team – were voted on solely by the league’s 10 head coaches.
Gonzales is the sixth BYU player and first since Cassie Broadhead in 2017 to be earn WCC Player of the Year honors. The 2018-19 WCC Newcomer of the Year and All-WCC first-team honoree, Gonzales missed the entire 2019-20 season due to a knee injury. She returned to form this season to post an impressive stat line of 17.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game while leading the Cougars 13-3 record in WCC play, including a split with regular season champion Gonzaga. Gonzales scored in double figures in all but one WCC contest and totaled 20-plus points seven times.
Wirth, an All-WCC First Team honoree in 2019-20, led Gonzaga to a near-perfect league record of 16-1 for the program’s fifth-straight regular season WCC title and 16th in the last 17 years. One of the most efficient offensive players in the league, she was second in the conference in field goal percentage at 57.2 and averaged 13.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest. She posted five double-doubles in WCC play, scored a season-best 26 points against Pacific, and totaled her season high of 14 rebounds on three occasions.
Higgins posted the numbers to back up her Defensive Player of the Year distinction. She led the league in steals at 3.7 per game (third in the nation) and was second in rebounds at 9.8 per contest. Higgins was the 2018-19 WCC Defensive Player of the Year and is a three-time All-WCC First Team honoree. Her 66 steals in WCC play are tied for second-most in league history behind the 67 she recorded last season. With 190 career steals in conference games, she is first all-time in WCC history.
Krimili, a redshirt freshman, was named the WCC’s top newcomer after finishing second in scoring at 18.1 points per game and leading the league in 3-point field goals (58) and free-throw percentage (91.1 percent). She connected on multiple 3-pointers 12 times during WCC play, including a USF record nine at LMU (Jan. 30), also tied for the most 3s in a WCC contest. Krimili posted 20-plus points eight times, including a career-best 29 in the LMU game.
Kempton secured Sixth Woman of the Year honors while averaging 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds and hitting 59.7 percent from the field. She scored in double figures four times in WCC play, including 12 against Santa Clara on 5 of 8 shooting. An efficient offensive player, Kempton hit 50.0 percent or better from the field 11 times.
Judkins coached BYU to a 13-3 record in WCC action and is now fifth all-time in league history with 130 conference wins. His winning percentage of 74.7 is also third all-time among coaches with at least 100 games coached. This season’s BYU squad finished second in scoring offense and defense and was first in defensive field goal percentage. This is the second WCC Coach of the Year honor for Judkins, who previously earned the recognition in 2015-16.
Seven of the 10 All-WCC First Team honorees earned a spot on the All-WCC Preseason squad. Five are repeats from the 2019-20 first team, including Portland’s Alex Fowler, Higgins, Paisley Harding from BYU and Gonzaga’s Jill Townsend and Wirth.
With the conclusion of the regular season, WCC teams head to Las Vegas to compete for the 2021 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament. Action tips off Thursday, March 4 at the Orleans Arena. This year is the 13th WCC Tournament in Las Vegas.
2020-21 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Major Individual Honors
Co-Player of the Year: Shaylee Gonzales, BYU; Jenn Wirth, Gonzaga
Coach of the Year: Jeff Judkins, BYU
Defensive Player of the Year: Valerie Higgins, Pacific
Newcomer of the Year: Ioanna Krimili, San Francisco
Sixth Woman of the Year: Melody Kempton, Gonzaga
| 2020-21 All-WCC Women’s Basketball First Team |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Haylee Andrews |
Jr. |
G |
Portland |
| Jordyn Edwards |
Sr. |
G |
San Diego |
| Alex Fowler |
So. |
F |
Portland |
| Shaylee Gonzales |
So. |
G |
BYU |
| Lauren Gustin |
So. |
F |
BYU |
| Paisley Harding |
Sr. |
G |
BYU |
| Valerie Higgins |
Sr. |
G |
Pacific |
| Ioanna Krimili |
Fr. |
G |
San Francisco |
| Jill Townsend |
Sr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Jenn Wirth |
Sr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
| 2020-21 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Second Team |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Lucie Hoskova |
Sr. |
G |
San Francisco |
| Ariel Johnson |
Jr. |
G |
LMU |
| Myah Pace |
Sr. |
G |
San Diego |
| Lindsey VanAllen |
Jr. |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Merle Wiehl |
Sr. |
F |
Santa Clara |
| 2020-21 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Freshman Team |
| Name |
Pos. |
School |
| Erica Adams |
G |
Pacific |
| Ellie Croco |
F |
Saint Mary's |
| Ashley Hiraki |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Ioanna Krimili |
G |
San Francisco |
| Emme Shearer |
G |
Portland |
| 2020-21 WCC Women’s Basketball Honorable Mention Selections |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Malia Bambrick |
Jr. |
G |
Pepperdine |
| Tegan Graham |
Sr. |
G |
BYU |
| Sara Hamson |
Sr. |
C |
BYU |
| Ashlyn Herlihy |
Sr. |
F |
Santa Clara |
| Madeline Holland |
Sr. |
G/F |
Saint Mary's |
| Sydney Hunter |
Sr. |
G |
San Diego |
| Melody Kempton |
Jr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
| Brooklyn McDavid |
Sr. |
F |
Pacific |
| Lianna Tillman |
Sr. |
G |
Pacific |
| Kayleigh Truong |
So. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Taycee Wedin |
Jr. |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| LeeAnne Wirth |
Sr. |
F |
Gonzaga |