SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga basketball players Filip Petrusev and Jill Townsend were named 2019-2020 West Coast Conference Players of the year on Tuesday.
Corey Kispert and Killian Tillie joined Petrusev as All-WCC First Team selections.
Petrusev averages a team-high 17.8 points per game, which ranks third in the West Coast Conference. He tops the league shooting 56.5 percent from the field. The sophomore is second in the WCC grabbing 7.8 rebounds per game, 5.4 defensive boards per game (third in WCC) and 2.4 offensive rebounds per game (fourth in WCC).
Joel Ayayi and Ryan Woolridge were tabbed honorable mention All-Conference this year, and Drew Timme was named to the league's All-Freshman team.
Five members of the Gonzaga women’s basketball team were named to the 2020 All-West Coast Conference Team, including Townsend. She became the second Zag in the last three seasons to earn the WCC Player of the Year honor after Jill Barta earned the award in 2018.
Townsend has started all 30 games at guard for the Zags, averaging a team-leading 12.2 points per game shooting 49.1 percent from the floor and 41.9 percent from long range. She ranks 16th in the conference in scoring and 13th in rebounding with 5.7 per contest.
The Okanogan, Wash., native was twice selected as WCC Player of the Week this season, and has scored in double-figures 18 times with two 20-point efforts. This includes a career-high 28 against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 25.
Townsend was also selected WCC All-Academic earlier in the season.
Junior Jenn Wirth was also selected to the first team, the second All-WCC honor of her career, while senior Katie Campbell picked up second team honors. Senior Jessie Loera was named All-WCC Honorable Mention, while freshman Kayleigh Truong was selected to the WCC All-Freshman Team.
I'm really happy for our players who have been recognized for their accomplishments this season," head coach Lisa Fortier said. "We preach team success heavily within our program, but at the same time, we rely on players performing their best. Having five players included in this list is a testament to this team's depth."
