Bjorklund ends drought for Bulldogs
Jamie Bjorklund is the first Gonzaga University player in 13 years, and just the fifth overall, to be named to the West Coast Conference All-Freshman team.
The WCC announced its honorees Monday, and two Bulldogs, Ashley Anderson and Stephanie Hawk, were named to the all-conference team.
Santa Clara, which tied the Bulldogs for the league title, grabbed the two major honors: Coach of the Year Michelle Bento-Jackson and Player of the Year Michelle Cozad.
Kelsey Ball of fourth-place Pepperdine is the Defensive Player of the Year and Ashlee Dunlap of third-place Loyola Marymount was named the Newcomer of the Year.
“I’m excited for our two all-league players; very deserving,” GU coach Kelly Graves said. “I think Cozad was very deserving as Player of Year. It was between her and ‘Andy.’ I would have liked to see Andy as the best defender. We’re the best defensive team in the league. I would have liked to see the best defender on the best defensive team (win). That’s the only thing I’m disappointed with.”
The Zags have not had a freshman pick since Benibel Carrion in 1992-93. The other GU picks were Sarah Christensen and Ivy Safranski the year before and Sheri Stemple in 1990.
“I was excited for Jamie; well deserved,” Graves said. “She has been kind of a silent key for us and is a great defender. I could have actually put her as a nominee for best defender. She is an excellent on-ball defender.”
Bjorklund, a University High School graduate, is fourth on the team in scoring at 7.7 points a game. In league games, the 5-foot-11 wing is averaging 8.3 points with a team-best 11 3-pointers in 21 attempts (52.4 percent).
Hawk leads the Bulldogs at 12.9 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. The 6-foot-3 post from Ontario, Ore., also received the WCC Player of the Week honor after averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds in a key road sweep that help the Bulldogs tie for the league championship.
Anderson is averaging 10.5 points on 49.3 percent shooting and 6.1 rebounds. Coming off knee surgery, the 6-foot-1 forward from Enterprise, Ore., hit her stride in league play, averaging a team-best 14.6 points and 8.7 rebounds in 14 games.
Tourney time
Washington State has the Pac-10 tournament starting Friday in San Jose. The 10th-seeded Cougars (8-19, 2-16) face No. 7 Oregon State (14-13, 7-11 after a 79-34 win over Texas-Pan American on Monday) in the 6 p.m. opener.
The Cougars lost to the Beavers twice, 68-67 in overtime on the road and 59-50 at home. The winner faces 11th-ranked Arizona State (23-5, 14-4) Saturday at 1:15 p.m. The second-seeded Sun Devils set a school record for league wins while beating the Cougars by 25 and 10 points.
The other first-round game features the two teams WSU beat, eighth-seeded Oregon and No. 9 Arizona.
•Eastern Washington closes the Big Sky Conference with a pair of home games, and the Eagles’ fifth straight berth in the league tournament is on the line.
The Eagles can clinch with help if they beat Northern Arizona Thursday night. EWU is in the sixth and last spot, but faces seventh-place Sacramento State on Saturday afternoon.
The BSC host role is also up for grabs with Montana and Idaho State, tied for first, squaring off in Pocatello on Thursday.
•Idaho’s initial run through the Western Athletic Conference has been difficult, and it appears the Vandals, who made the championship game of the Big West Conference tournament the past two seasons, face a play-in game.
The eighth- and ninth-seeded teams meet, with the winner facing the league champion, which is likely to be 19th-ranked Louisiana Tech, which played in Moscow on Monday.
Idaho closes its season Friday against Boise State, the final home game for record-breaker and former national scoring champion Emily Faurholt, the lone Vandals senior.