SAN MATEO, Calif. – After sharing the award last season, BYU's Shaylee Gonzales was named the WCC Player of the Year, headlining the West Coast Conference’s 2021-22 women’s basketball all-conference end of the year awards. BYU head coach Jeff Judkins was tabbed Coach of the Year, while Ali Bamberger from Saint Mary’s won Newcomer of the Year, Gonzaga’s Yvonne Ejim won Sixth Woman of the Year and San Diego’s Jordyn Edwards won Defensive Player of the Year.
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.
An All-WCC guard, Gonzales is averaging 22.0 points over the past five games, including a career-high 35 vs. Saint Mary’s. Overall this season, Gonzales paces her squad and ranks third in the league in scoring at 18.8 ppg. This is the seventh time a BYU player has earned WCC Player of the Year accolades. Prior to Gonzales’ shared award last year, the last time a Cougar won it outright was Cassie Broadhead in 2017. Gonzales previously won the 2018-19 WCC Newcomer of the Year and was an All-WCC first-team honoree.
Judkins earned his 450th career victory earlier this season. This is the third WCC Coach of the Year honor for Judkins who previously earned the recognition last season and in 2015-16. Under Judkins’ guidance, BYU won the 2021-22 WCC regular season title and the Cougars currently boast a No. 17 ranking in the latest Associated Press poll. BYU boasts the four-highest scoring totals this season among WCC teams (104, 103, 101, 99). BYU ranks first in the league in scoring (79.2) and second in defense (58.0 ppg).
Bamberger ended the regular season ranked sixth in the WCC in scoring (15.6 ppg). She also boasts nine double-doubles this season with a 9.4 rebounding average that ranks second in the WCC. She has led her Gaels to the No. 5 seed in the WCC Tournament and a winning record this season at 15-14. A redshirt sophomore, Bamberger transferred to Saint Mary’s from Washington.
Ejim is part of a stingy Gonzaga defense that propelled the Bulldogs to the No. 2 seed in the UCU WCC Basketball Tournament thanks to owning the league’s top defense at 55.7 ppg allowed. Ejim is averaging 9.9 ppg, fourth on her team, but it’s defense where she really made her mark off the bench for the Zags. She paces the team in steals with 44 and she is third among the Bulldogs in rebounds with her 5.4 average. She was named to last year’s WCC All-Tournament Team.
Speaking of defense and steals, no team has done it better this season than San Diego, and Edwards was the best at that. She currently leads the WCC in steals with an average of 2.6 per game. A fifth-year senior who transferred to USD from Colorado State prior to her junior year, Edwards was previously tabbed to the All-WCC First Team last year and the All-WCC Second Team the season before.
BYU led the way with three All-WCC First Team selections: Gonzales, Paisley Harding and Lauren Gustin. Six of the 10 members on the All-WCC First Team were Preseason All-WCC selections.
2021-22 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Major Individual Honors
Player of the Year: Shaylee Gonzales, BYU
Coach of the Year: Jeff Judkins, BYU
Newcomer of the Year: Ali Bamberger, Saint Mary’s
Sixth Woman of the Year: Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga
Defensive Player of the Year: Jordyn Edwards, San Diego
2021-22 All-WCC Women’s Basketball First Team
Name Yr. Pos. School
Ali Bamberger So. F Saint Mary’s
Alex Fowler So. F Portland
Shaylee Gonzales So. G BYU
Lauren Gustin So. F BYU
Paisley Harding Sr. G BYU
Sydney Hunter Gr. G San Diego
Melody Kempton Sr. F Gonzaga
Ioanna Krimili So. G San Francisco
Kayleigh Truong Jr. G Gonzaga
Lindsey VanAllen Sr. G Santa Clara
2021-22 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Second Team
Name Yr. Pos. School
Haylee Andrews Jr. G Portland
Kennedy Dickie Jr. F San Francisco
Yvonne Ejim So. F Gonzaga
Ariel Johnson Sr. G LMU
Taycee Wedin Sr. G Saint Mary’s
Merle Wiehl Sr. F Santa Clara
2021-22 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Freshman Team
Name Pos. School
Elizabeth Elliott C Pacific
Anaya James G Pacific
Claudia Langarita F San Francisco
Makena Mastora G Saint Mary’s
Ally Stedman G Pepperdine
2021-22 WCC Women’s Basketball Honorable Mention Selections
Lucy Cochrane, Portland; Jordyn Edwards, San Diego; Tegan Graham, BYU; Madeline Holland, Saint Mary’s; Anaya James, Pacific