WCC lauds Vandersloot

Courtney Vandersloot, a Gonzaga University freshman, is the West Coast Conference women’s basketball player of the week.

Vandersloot averaged 16 points, 7.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals a game as Gonzaga defeated San Francisco and San Diego. She shot 50 percent (12 of 24) from the field, hitting 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

Men’s basketball

Whitworth senior Ryan Symes is the Northwest Conference men’s player of the week.

Symes scored 46 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as the Pirates defeated Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound at home to pull into a first-place tie in the NWC with UPS. He shot 64 percent (16 of 25) from the field.

Track and field

An NCAA automatic qualifying mark at the UW Husky Classic earned Idaho senior Russ Winger the Western Athletic Conference men’s indoor track athlete of the week award for the third time this season.

Winger shattered the Dempsey Indoor facility shot put record with a toss of 66 feet, 6 1/2 inches. Besides the NCAA qualifying mark, it’s the best in the WAC this season by 11 feet, second best in the NCAA and 10th best in the world.