SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The Gonzaga Bulldogs had three players selected to the 2019 All-West Coast Conference First Team, the conference office announced Tuesday. In addition, head women's basketball coach
Lisa Fortier was selected as the WCC Coach of the Year for the fourth time in five seasons after leading her team to the WCC regular-season title for the fourth time in five years.
Seniors
Zykera Rice,
Chandler Smith and
Laura Stockton were all selected to the first team, the second all-WCC honor for both Rice and Smith and the first for Stockton.
Jill Townsend was one of six in the conference to be named All-WCC Honorable Mention.
Fortier continues to extend her record-breaking tenure as she is the only coach in conference history to be tabbed coach of the year four times in her first five seasons. This season, she led the Zags to their third-straight WCC regular-season title with a 27-3 overall record and 16-2 mark in conference play. The Bulldogs have been ranked in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' Polls for 14 consecutive weeks, and Gonzaga was highlighted as a 4-seed in the NCAA Selection Committee's early reveal in February. With GU's 27 wins, Fortier extends her streak of 20+ win seasons to three and is the only coach in program history to have four 20+ wins in four of their first five seasons.
Rice picked up her second-straight All-WCC honor after being selected to the second team a season ago. Rice led the Zags in scoring (14.2 points per game) and rebounding (5.9 rebounds per game) to rank 11th and 15th in the conference, respectively. The Tacoma, Wash., native also ranked third in the conference in field goal percentage at 52.2 percent. Rice was twice named WCC Player of the Week and finished in double-figures 16 times during conference play.
Smith also earned her second All-WCC honor and her first career All-WCC First Team selection. The redshirt senior ranked second on the team in both scoring and rebounding with 9.3 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game, finishing in double figures five times during the conference season. The Brewster, Wash., native grabbed at least five rebounds in 11 different WCC contests and dished out at least three assists nine times.
For Stockton, it's her first All-WCC First Team selection after having previously been named honorable mention in 2017. The senior led the Bulldogs and ranked fourth in the WCC with 4.3 assists per game, and she moved into third all-time in career assists in GU history with her first assist of the night at Santa Clara on Feb. 21. The Spokane, Wash., native averaged 9.1 points per game, good for a tie for third on the team, and led the Zags in scoring three times during conference play.
Sophomore
Jill Townsend was named All-WCC Honorable Mention for the first time in her career. Townsend averaged 9.1 points per contest to tie for third on the team and adds 4.7 rebounds per game, good for fourth on the squad. Townsend finished in double figures eight times during conference play and netted at least eight points in 14 WCC contests. The Okanogan, Wash., native also ranks sixth in the conference in field goal percentage, hitting 51.1 percent of her attempts on the year.
Pepperdine senior Yasmine Robinson-Bacote was tabbed Player of the Year and Pacific's Valerie Higgins earned Defensive Player of the Year honors while BYU freshman Shaylee Gonzales was named Newcomer of the Year. All four individual awards - along with the All-West Coast Conference Teams and the All-Freshman Team - were voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.
Of the 10-member All-WCC First Team, seven appeared on the 2018-19 preseason All-WCC squad. Robinson-Bacote of Pepperdine is making her third-consecutive First Team appearance while Brenna Chase of BYU and Megan McKay of Saint Mary's are making their second-consecutive appearances.
All 10 West Coast Conference teams head to Las Vegas to compete for the 2019 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Basketball Championship and subsequent automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Tournament action tips off Thursday, March 7 at the Orleans Arena.
Women's Basketball All-WCC Honors
Player of the Year: Yasmine Robinson-Bacote, Pepperdine
Coach of the Year: Lisa Fortier, Gonzaga
Defensive Player of the Year: Valerie Higgins, Pacific
Newcomer of the Year: Shaylee Gonzales, Brigham Young
2018-19 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FIRST TEAM
Name School Year Position
Brenna Chase BYU Jr. G
Chelsey Gipson Loyola Marymount Soph. G
Shaylee Gonzales BYU Fr. G
Valerie Higgins Pacific R-Soph. G
Megan McKay Saint Mary's Sr. F
Sydney Raggio Saint Mary's Sr. F
Zykera Rice Gonzaga Sr. F
Yasmine Robinson-Bacote Pepperdine Sr. F
Chandler Smith Gonzaga R-Sr. F
Laura Stockton Gonzaga Sr. G
2018-19 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SECOND TEAM
Name School Year Position
Tia Hay Santa Clara Jr. G
Paisley Johnson BYU Soph. G
Brooklyn McDavid Pacific Soph. F
Shannon Powell San Francisco Sr. G
Julie Spencer Portland Sr. F
2018-19 WCC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HONORABLE MENTION
Bree Alford, Loyola Marymount; Jasmine Forcadilla, Saint Mary's; Ashlyn Herlihy, Santa Clara; Ameela Li, Pacific; Barbara Sitanggan, Pepperdine;
Jill Townsend, Gonzaga
2018-19 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALL FRESHMAN TEAM
Name School Year Position
Haylee Andrews Portland Fr. G
Malia Bambrick Pepperdine Fr. G
Shaylee Gonzales Brigham Young Fr. G
Sam Simons Saint Mary's Fr. G
Lindsey VanAllen Santa Clara Fr. G
