Mountain West Announces 2016-17 Women's Basketball All-Conference Team

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2017 Championship Central

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 11 MW women’s basketball coaches chose Colorado State senior Ellen Nystrom as the Mountain West Women’s Basketball Player of the Year for 2016-17 as the All-Conference team and individual award winners were announced today. Wyoming head coach Joe Legerski earned his second MW Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Cowgirls to a second-place finish in the league. Fresno State junior Bego Faz Davalos was awarded Defensive Player of the Year honors, while Utah State rookie Eliza West was chosen as the Freshman of the Year. New Mexico’s Richelle van der Keijl was recognized as the Newcomer of the Year and Cowgirls sophomore Marta Gomez was named 6th Player of the Year. It is the second year in a row that Nystrom and Faz Davalos have earned their respective individual honors.

Five seniors and five juniors make up this year’s All-MW team. Nystrom, a four-time All-Mountain West selection, was one of five repeat honorees. Making their second appearances on the league’s postseason team, along with Faz Davalos, were Boise State senior Brooke Pahukoa, New Mexico junior Cherise Beynon and San José State senior Dezz Ramos. San Diego State junior McKynzie Fort and UNLV junior Dakota Gonzalez moved up to the all-conference team this season from the honorable mention list. Rounding out the team was Colorado State senior Elin Gustavsson, New Mexico senior Richelle van der Keijl and Wyoming junior Liv Roberts.

JFive players received honorable mention – Boise State sophomore Marijke Vanderschaaf, Fresno State sophomore Candice White, Nevada senior Stephanie Schmid, UNLV junior Brooke Johnson and Utah State sophomore Rachel Brewster.

Nystrom, Faz Davalos, Beynon, Johnson and Roberts were also named to the MW All-Defensive Team. West was joined on the All-Freshman Team by Air Force’s Mariah Forde, Boise State’s Riley Lupfer, New Mexico’s Mykiel Burleson, Utah State’s Shannon Dufficy and Wyoming’s Taylor Rusk.

Legerski guided the Cowgirls to a second-place finish in the Mountain West standings at 13-5. Wyoming’s 13 conference wins are the most in program history. The Cowgirls finished the regular season 21-8 overall and are the No. 2 seed in the 2017 Mountain West Women’s Basketball Championship, March 6-8 and 10, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Profiles of 2016-17 MW Individual Award honorees

Ellen Nystrom (Colorado State) – Player of the Year
Nystrom led the Rams to their fourth consecutive MW regular season title. The senior guard was one of two CSU players to average 10 or more points in Conference play at 14.3 in 18 games. She ranked among the top 10 in several statistical categories in 2016-17 Conference play, including second in assists per game (5.7) and steals per game (2.0). Nystrom was fourth in assist/turnover ratio at 1.7, seventh in scoring with 14.3 points per game, eighth in rebounding with 8.2 boards per game and tied for second in minutes played, averaging 37.3. The native of Sweden was third in free throw shooting (.864 percent) and 11th in field goal percentage (.432). She also had 15 blocked shots and recorded seven double-doubles in league play.

Bego Faz Davalos (Fresno State) – Defensive Player of the Year
For the third year in a row, Faz Davalos was the league’s top shot blocker in Conference play with 52 for an average of 2.9 per game. The native of Mexico also led the league in rebounding with 10.3 boards per Conference game for the Bulldogs. Her total of 186 rebounds set a Conference single-season record in Mountain West play. She also averaged 13.1 points, 1.5 steals, 3.7 offensive rebounds and 6.6 defensive rebounds. Faz Davalos recorded a league-high eight double-doubles in Conference action. She was third in field goal percentage at .554.

Richelle van der Keijl (New Mexico) – Newcomer of the Year
van der Keijl finished Conference play ranked first in field goal shooting at .581 percent and second in rebounding with 9.4 boards per game for the Lobos. She also finished second with 2.0 blocked shots per game and tied for ninth in scoring with 13.6 points per game. The native of The Netherlands recorded six double-doubles in league action.

Eliza West (Utah State) – Freshman of the Year
West earned her way into the Aggies starting lineup and averaged 35.6 minutes per game at the guard position. The native of Australia averaged 8.8 points and 5.4 assists per contest in Conference play. She also averaged 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting .377 from the floor, .407 from behind the 3-point arc and .755 from the free throw line.

Marta Gomez (Wyoming) – Sixth Player of the Year
Gomez came off the bench in 14 of 18 MW games for the Cowgirls, while averaging 25.1 minutes per game. The sophomore forward from Spain was fourth in league play with a .405 3-point shooting percentage. She averaged 8.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in Conference action. West recorded a 1.7 assist/turnover ratio.

Joe Legerski (Wyoming) – Coach of the Year
Legerski guided the Cowgirls to a13-5 mark as Wyoming earned the No. 2 seed in the 2017 MW Championship. The Cowgirls led the league in four statistical categories, including field goal percentage (.452), three-point field goal percentage (.385), rebounding defense (31.3 rpg) and assists per game (15.6 apg) in league play. Overall, Wyoming is 21-8 and has won three-consecutive games since losing top scorer Liv Roberts to a season-ending injury. It is the second time that Legerski has won the award (2003-04).

# 2015-16 selection
^ 2014-15 selection
! 2013-14 selection