SAN MATEO, Calif. – Three members of the Gonzaga women's basketball team were name to the 2022 All-West Coast Conference Team, the conference office announced Wednesday.
Senior
Melody Kempton and junior
Kayleigh Truong were both named to the
All-WCC First Team. Sophomore
Yvonne Ejim was named the Sixth Woman of the Year along with being selected to the All-WCC Second Team.
This marks the second year in-a-row that a Zag was chosen for the Sixth Woman of the Year nod with Kempton winning the award last year.
All 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.
"I really enjoy coaching our players," head coach
Lisa Fortier said. "We have a group of women who focus more on team success than individual awards. That being said, Melody,
Kayleigh and Yvonne have made great contributions to our team this year and the recognition from the conference is well deserved."
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 her defense is 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.
Truong earned her third-straight All-WCC honor as she was selected All-WCC honorable Mention last year and WCC All-Freshman two years ago.
Truong has led the
Zags for the majority of the year and is currently averaging 10.9 points and a team-high 3.7 assists per game. She has also grabbed 30 steals and has scored 37 three-pointers so far this season.
This marks Kempton's second-straight
All-WCC nod after being selected to the
All-WCC Honorable Mention last year. Kempton was also tabbed to preseason
All-WCC earlier this year. Kempton currently leads the
Zags with 10.9 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. The Post Falls, Idaho, native has posted two double-double performances this year and reached 500 career rebounds earlier this year. She currently is shooting at 53.9 percent, which ranks her first in women's basketball program history.
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 3 at the Orleans Arena. This year is the 13th WCC Tournament in Las Vegas. The Zags will have their first game in the semi-final round on Monday, March 7 at 2 p.m.
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
