SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Following an undefeated Conference slate at 16-0, No. 15 Gonzaga was awarded four of the six individual WCC end of the year awards, as announced by the Conference on Tuesday. Yvonne Ejim was named the WCC Player of the Year and the WCC Defensive Player of the Year, teammate Maud Huibjens won Sixth Woman of the Year, and GU head coach Lisa Fortier was tabbed Coach of the Year. Freja Werth from San Francisco won WCC Newcomer of the Year while Zeryhia Aokuso was voted WCC Freshman of the Year.
All six of the major individual awards – along with the WCC All-Conference Teams and the All-Freshman Team – were voted on solely by the league’s nine head coaches.
Ejim has been unstoppable offensively this season, bringing unmatched consistency and prowess. Despite missing a pair of Conference games representing Canada in an Olympic qualifying tournament, Ejim leads the Bulldogs and the league in scoring at 20 points per game, which is good enough for 22nd in the country. She has scored in double figures in 35-straight games, dating back to last season. Ejim also leads the WCC and is sixth in the nation in field goal percentage at 62.8 percent. This is the 12th time a Gonzaga player has earned WCC Player of the Year accolades and the second straight year the Zags have garnered the honor.
Fortier, in her 10th season at Gonzaga, currently holds a Conference-best 94.1 percent (81-5) WCC winning percentage and an 81.1 percent career winning percentage. Fortier's career winning percentage is fifth among active Division I head coaches. This is the sixth WCC Coach of the Year honor for Fortier who previously earned the recognition last season. For the first time under Fortier, Gonzaga finished undefeated in Conference play at 16-0 winning the 2023-24 WCC regular season title outright on Feb. 17. The Bulldogs currently rank No. 15 in this week's Associated Press poll and own the nation's second-longest winning streak at 22 games. Gonzaga is second in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (40.4) and in third in the NCAA in assists per game (20.1). GU leads the league in scoring at 82.9 ppg and win margin at 22.3. Through Conference games only, the Zags finished with a staggering win margin of 30.7 ppg.
Huijbens is the sixth leading scorer coming off the bench for Gonzaga this season averaging 6.7 ppg. She has scored in double figures six times this season, including a career-high 15 points three times. Huijbens recorded her first career double-double at San Francisco on Jan. 27. This is GU's third Sixth Woman of the Year award in four years.
Ejim is top five in the WCC in double-doubles, rebounds, and blocked shots. She is third in the league in double-doubles (12) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) and fifth in blocked shots (1.0). Ejim has tallied 11 double-doubles this season, which is third-best in the WCC. The last time the Zags had a player win Defensive Player of the Year was in 2013.
Werth ended the regular season ranked third on San Francisco in scoring (9.7 ppg) in her first season with the Dons. She has scored in double-digits in two of the last three games and in nine WCC games this season. Werth is the fourth USF player to win Newcomer of the Year.
Aokuso was named Credit Union 1 Freshman of the Week seven times, tied for a league-best this season. She leads Saint Mary's in scoring at 12 ppg. Aokuso finished the regular season with three consecutive games in double figures, including a career-high 28 points against San Francisco in the final week of the regular season. This is the fourth Freshman of the Year nod SMC has been awarded.
Gonzaga led the way with four All-WCC First Team selections: Ejim, Brynna Maxwell, Kayleigh Truong, and Kaylynne Truong. Seven of the 10 members on the All-WCC First Team were Preseason All-WCC selections.
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, San Francisco
Defensive Player of the Year – Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga
Sixth Woman of the Year – Maud Huijbens, Gonzaga
Freshman of the Year - Zeryhia Aokuso, Saint Mary's
2023-24 All-WCC Women’s Basketball First Team
| Name |
Year |
Pos. |
School |
| Yvonne Ejim |
Sr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
| Debora dos Santos |
R-Jr. |
F |
San Francisco |
| Jasmine Gayles |
Gr. |
G |
San Francisco |
| Tess Heal |
So. |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Anaya James |
Jr. |
G |
Pacific |
| Brynna Maxwell |
Gr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Olivia Pollerd |
Jr. |
F |
Santa Clara |
| Emme Shearer |
Jr. |
G |
Portland |
| Kayleigh Truong |
Gr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Kaylynne Truong |
Gr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
2023-24 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Second Team
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Zeryhia Aokuso |
Fr. |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Maisie Burnham |
Jr. |
G |
Portland |
| Elizabeth Elliott |
Jr. |
C |
Pacific |
| Veronica Sheffey |
So. |
G |
San Diego |
| Eliza Hollingsworth |
Gr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
2023-24 All-WCC Women’s Basketball Freshman Team
| Name |
Pos. |
School |
| Dyani Ananiev |
G |
Portland |
| Zeryhia Aokuso |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Maia Jones |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Maddie Naro |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Jorynn Ross |
F |
Pepperdine |
2023-24 WCC Women’s Basketball Honorable Mention Selections
Ali Bamberger, Saint Mary's; Cecilia Holmberg, Pacific; Alexis Mark, LMU; Jane Nwaba, Pepperdine