March 1, 2011
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Gonzaga University received a pair of individual honors after claiming its seventh-straight West Coast Conference women's basketball regular season title and the top seed in the WCC Tournament, as senior point guard Courtney Vandersloot was named the Player of the Year for an unprecedented third year in a row and head coach Kelly Graves took home the Coach of the Year honor for the second year in a row and sixth time in his career. Vandersloot was also named to the All-Conference team for the fourth-consecutive season.
Along with Vandersloot, junior classmates Kayla Standish and Katelan Redmon were also named to the All-Conference squad for the first time in their careers. Rounding out the honors for the Bulldogs was senior Janelle Bekkering who was named WCC honorable mention.
"I am thrilled for these four players," stated Graves. "I am happy they got recognized for their achievements. They all are skilled, athletic, play well together; it's a tribute to them."
With Vandersloot claiming the Player of the Year award, a Bulldog has now won the award six of the last seven seasons. Besides Vandersloot, Heather Bowman won the award in 2007-08, Stephanie Hawk was the recipient in 2006-07 and Shannon Mathews won the award in 2004-05.
"With Courtney's selection of Player of the Year for the third year in a row, it solidifies her legacy perhaps as the greatest player to have played in the conference," explained Graves. "To achieve something nobody else has, it is difficult to think that somebody else will. She is truly deserving of this honor."
Vandersloot is a big reason why the Bulldogs lead the nation in scoring offense at 86.2 points per game. She leads the NCAA in assists for the second-straight year, dishing out 9.9 assists per game and also led the West Coast Conference with 18.7 points per contest, which is currently 27th in the country. Along with leading the nation is assists, she also leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.19) and is 18th in steals per game (3.0). She became the fourth player in NCAA history to pass out 1,000 assists in their career, currently totaling 1,048. Vandersloot was named WCC Player of the Week four times this season, tabbed Player of the Month for November and January and has 15 double-doubles to her credit.
"There are a lot of deserving players and it is an honor to have been picked," stated Vandersloot after hearing she had been named Player of the Year. "I couldn't have done it without my teammates and coaches."
Standish finished the regular season with a well rounded campaign. She closed out the season ranked second in conference in field goal percentage (55.4%) and blocks (1.8), fourth in scoring (16.7), fifth in rebounding (8.7), and eighth in free throw percentage (78.1). Standish also had 10 double-doubles on the year and was named WCC Player of the Week twice.
Redmon, last year's WCC Newcomer of the Year, ended the season ranked first in the conference in field goal percentage (55.5), second in scoring (17.4), ninth in rebounding (6.2), 10th in assists (2.4), and 14th in steals (1.4). She scored double-figure points in all but two contests, was named WCC Player of the Week twice and the WCC Player of the Month for December.
Bekkering ended the year seventh in the league in field goal percentage (49.6), fifth in 3-point percentage (37.0), 10th in 3-pointers made (44), 11th in steals (1.5), and 14th in points per game (11.3). Bekkering drained a career-high five 3-pointers at the University of San Francisco, Feb. 19.
Graves guided the Zags to a perfect 14-0 mark in conference play for the second-consecutive season and third in seven years, a 26-4 record during the regular season and 30-straight regular-season WCC victories.
Rounding out the WCC yearly awards was Jazmine Jackson of Pepperdine who was named Defensive Player of the Year and Camille Buckley, of Loyola Marymount University, who was named Newcomer of the Year.
The remainder of the All-Conference squad includes Dominique Conners (San Diego), Natalie Day (Portland), Lena Gipson (Santa Clara), Jackson (Pepperdine), Jasmine Smith (Saint Mary's), Louella Tomlinson (Saint Mary's), and Renahy Young (Loyola Marymount).
Also earning honorable mention was Candice Nichols (Loyola Marymount), ReZina TecleMariam (Portland), Tara Cronin (Portland), Sam Child (San Diego), Kelly Jo Mullaney (San Francisco), and Meagan Fulps (Santa Clara).
The All-Freshman team consisted of Buckley (Loyola Marymount), Alexis Byrd (Portland), Danielle Maudlin (Saint Mary's), Robie Mayberry (Pepperdine), and Ricki Radanovich (Santa Clara).
2011 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Name S chool HT P YR Hometown
Dominique Conners USD 5-8 G JR Oceanside, Calif.
Natalie Day POR 6-0 G/F JR Germantown, Md.
Lena Gipson SCU 6-0 F RSR Hanford, Calif.
Jazmine Jackson PEP 5-9 G JR Oakland, Calif.
Katelan Redmon GON 6-1 G/F JR Spokane, Wash.
Jasmine Smith SMC 5-8 G RJR Pinole, Calif.
Kayla Standish GON 6-2 F JR Ellensburg, Wash.
Louella Tomlinson SMC 6-4 F SR Melborne, Australia
Courtney Vandersloot GON 5-8 G SR Kent, Wash.
Renahy Young LMU 5-8 G SR Torrance, Calif.
HONORABLE MENTION
GON: Janelle Bekkering; Loyola Marymount: Candice Nichols; Portland: ReZina
TecleMariam, Tara Cronin; San Diego: Sam Child; San Francisco: Kelly Jo Mullaney; Santa
Clara: Meagan Fulps
2011 ALL-FRESHMEN TEAM
Name S chool HT P Hometown
Camille Buckley LMU 6-1 F Ontario, Calif.
Alexis Byrd POR 5-10 G Las Vegas, Nev.
Danielle Mauldin SMC 6-0 F Hercules, Calif.
Robie Mayberry PEP 5-11 F San Leandro, Calif.
Ricki Radanovich SCU 5-10 G Diablo, Calif.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Kelly Graves
Gonzaga
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga
5'8" • Senior • Guard
Defensive Player OF THE YEAR
Jazmine Jackson, Pepperdine
5'9"• Junior • Guard
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Camille Buckley, LMU
6'1"• Freshman • Forward
