Gonzaga women get National Letters of Intent from guards McKayla Williams, Lily Scanlon

McKayla Williams, a four-star recruit from Los Angeles who gave an oral commitment last summer to play for Gonzaga, has made it official.

“I chose Gonzaga because I established a great connection with the coaching staff,” Williams said Wednesday after signing a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.

“And, I wanted to win,” said Williams, who is rated as the eighth-best wing in the nation by ESPN.

The Zags also signed guard Lily Scanlon, a 5-foot-9 guard from Melbourne, Australia, and Canadian forward Yvonne Ejim.

All three will join the Zags in the fall of 2020.

Scanlon, who has played for the Australian U19 and U17 international teams, gave her oral commitment last month.

The early NLI signing period, which began on Wednesday, ends Nov. 20.

Williams is among the highest-profile GU signees in recent years. Rated four stars by ESPN, she led Windward High School to two CIF Championships: the California Division I State title in 2017 and the California Open Division State title in 2018.

Williams also led the Wildcats to a CIF Southern Section Open Division title in both 2018 and 2019, and last season led Windward to a 26-6 overall record and a No. 13 national ranking, according to MaxPreps.

An agile perimeter guard, Williams can help on the boards and can finish in traffic with either hand.

Her ability to shoot outside stretches out the defense, and she is able to successfully execute plays in the half court.

“She is an extremely long guard, who defends and rebounds like crazy,” GU coach Lisa Fortier said. “She has played every position on the floor through her career so far and is going to add to the versatility of the class.”

Scanlon will be the second Australian international in as many years to join the Zags. True freshman Eliza Hollingsworth, a 6-2 forward, played with Scanlon in the U17 world championships last year in Belarus

Most recently, Scanlon led the U19 Australian National team to a Silver medal at the FIBA World Championships in Thailand in 2019 where she averaged 5.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Scanlon scored 12 points in the opening game of the Group Phase against Team USA.

Ejim, a six-foot forward out of Calgary, Alberta, brings even more international playing experience to the Bulldogs’ roster.

At the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Belarus last year, Ejim averaged 6.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.