Gonzaga Women’s Basketball: Preseason Accolades

let’s check-in on where the Zags stack up

The powers that be are finally declaring their thoughts on the ‘24-25 campaign so let’s go over where Gonzaga it’s players are registering for these preseason rankings, nominations, etc.

AP Top 25 Preseason Poll

The first AP Top 25 Poll dropped last week and while Gonzaga didn’t crack the ranking list, they did receive votes, 16 to be exact, and if the Poll was expanded, this would have the Bulldogs sitting at #31, just behind Stanford. The Zags were the only WCC team to be included by the AP. Interestingly, those 16 votes surpass the total received by the ‘23-24 squad by 1. That doesn’t mean much, but it’s a fun fact.

WCC Media Day

The West Coast Conference held their annual Media Day on October 16th and dropped the highly expected announcements of the Preseason Poll and Preseason Team of the Year. Gonzaga was represented by Head Coach Lisa Fortier and seniors Yvonne Ejim, Maud Huijbens, and Esther Little.

In the Preseason Poll, the Zags received the most first place votes with 5, but they only narrowly beat WCC newcomer Washington State with total votes, 92 to 91. Here are the full poll results that are voted on by the WCC coaches

1. Gonzaga 92 (5)

2. Washington State 91 (2)

3. Portland 84 (2)

4. Oregon State 77 (2)

5. Pacific 63

6. San Francisco 53

7. Santa Clara 43

8. Saint Mary’s 39

9. San Diego 28

10. Loyola Marymount 20

11. Pepperdine 15

When the Preseason Team of the Year was announced, two Gonzaga players, Yvonne Ejim and Maud Huijbens, were honored with selections. I have a stinking suspicion we will see at least one more player on the end of season team of the year and I’d place my money on Tayla Dalton. Here are the other players selected to the Team:

G – Maisie Burnham (Sr.) Portland

F – Debora dos Santos (RSr.) San Francisco

F – Yvonne Ejim (5th) Gonzaga

F – Maud Huijbens (Gr.) Gonzaga

G – Anaya James (Sr.) Pacific

G – AJ Marotte (Sr.) Oregon State

F – Olivia Pollerd (Sr.) Santa Clara

G – Emme Shearer (Gr.) Portland

G – Eleonora Villa (So) Washington State

G – Tara Wallack (Sr. Washington State

Yvonne Ejim

Becky Hammon POTY Watchlist — Awarded to the best mid-major player; Yvonne claimed 2024 edition of this award as selected by Her Hoops Stats. The award has only been given since 2020, but if Yvonne can replicate her performance from last season and take home the award again, she would be the first to receive this honor twice. Other notable players on this list include Wyoming’s Allyson Fertig and Colorado State’s Emma Ronsiek. The Zags will take on both of those teams in this year’s non-conference slate.

Stacy Clinesmith

Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame — There were 6 legends inducted this past week including none other than long-standing assistant coach, Stacy Clinesmith. After starring at Mead High School, Clinesmith attended UCSB and started basically from the jump. In her four years in Southern California, Stacy played 127 games and amassed over 1500 points along with 647 assists, 284 rebounds, and 204 steals while averaging 45.8% overall shooting and 39.9% three point shooting. She ended being nominated to 4 Big West teams and was selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2000 WNBA draft by the Sacramento Monarchs. She played in the League for three years before retiring and had stints at Oregon State, Central Washington, and Santa Clara before finally joining Gonzaga prior to the ‘14-15 season