BYU Star Shaylee Gonzales Named WCC Co-Player Of The Year, Jeff Judkins Coach Of Year
Mar 2, 2021, 8:22 PM
BYU Women's Basketball star Shaylee Gonzales against the Montana State Bobcats on December 10th, 2020. (BYU Photo)
(BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s basketball had a big year in large part because of star guard Shaylee Gonzales and head coach Jeff Judkins.
Gonzales was named the WCC’s Co-Player of the Year and Judkins was the Coach of the Year in the league.
#BYU's @shayleegonzales is the #WCChoops Co-Player of the Year.@byuwbb #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/6WhWQnzPfB
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 2, 2021
BYU finished the regular season 17-4 overall and 13-3 in West Coast Conference play. Gonzales, who missed all of last season due to an injury, has improved from her spectacular freshman season two years ago. The 5-foot-10 guard is averaging 18.5 points. 5.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.
Gonzales had five games this season where she scored more than 25 points this season, including a season-opening 30-point performance in a win over LSU.
Jeff Judkins being named WCC Coach of the Year is the second time in his career he has received the honor. Judkins is now fifth all-time in league history with 130 conference wins. His winning percentage of 74.7 is also third all-time among coaches with at least 100 conference games coached.
This year’s BYU squad finished second in scoring offense and defense and was first in defensive field goal percentage. The last time Judkins earned the WCC Coach of the Year was in the 2015-16 season.
Juddy.
The #WCChoops Coach of the Year.
@byuwbb pic.twitter.com/XrqIdNpgp4— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) March 2, 2021
A former Utah grad, Judkins is in his 20th season as BYU’s head coach. He is the winningest coach in BYU basketball history regardless of men’s or women’s with 428 wins.
Along with Gonzales, BYU placed Lauren Gustin and Paisley Harding on the All-WCC First Team. BYU’s Tegan Graham and Sara Hamson also received Honorable Mention selections.
The Cougars now head to Las Vegas for the West Coast Conference Tournament where they have an NCAA Tournament bid on their mind. BYU has a bye all the way until the semifinal round of the tournament where they will play on Monday, March 8 at 3 p.m. (MT) on BYUtv. The opponent is to be determined.
As of Monday, BYU was listed as a “First Four Out” by ESPN’s Bracketology for the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m., KSL Newsradio). Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper and the KSL Sports app.
