Utah's Pili, Fremont alum Gardiner take Pac-12 honors; Gustin 1st team All-Big 12

SALT LAKE CITY — In the final year of Pac-12 women's basketball as we know it, a former Fremont High star took one of the league's top honors.

Ogden native Timea Gardiner was named Pac-12 women's basketball Sixth Player of the Year as voted by the league's 12 head coaches, the conference announced Tuesday.

The Oregon State sophomore made three starts in 29 games for the Beavers, averaging 11.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and ranking seventh in the conference with a 41.7% 3-point field-goal percentage.

Gardiner's 11.1 points per game off the bench were the most in the Pac-12, and she enters Thursday's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas having scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games.

Stanford forward Cameron Brink was named Pac-12 Player and Defensive Player of the Year, USC's JuJu Watkins took home Freshman of the Year, and Stanford junior Kiki Iriafen was Most Improved Player. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who broke the NCAA's all-time wins record en route to her 1,212th victory with the Cardinal, was named Coach of the Year.

First-team honors included Utah forward Alissa Pili. The senior from Anchorage, Alaska, averaged 21.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game en route to all-conference honors for the fourth consecutive season.

Utah's Jenna Johnson, Kennedy McQueen and Ines Vieira earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention status.

All-Pac-12 women's basketball awards

All-Pac-12 First Team

• Raegan Bears, Oregon State
• Lauren Betts, UCLA
• Cameron Brink, Stanford
• McKenzie Forbes, USC
• Timea Gardiner, Oregon State
• Kiki Iriafen, Stanford
• Charisse Leger-Walker, Washington State
• Charisma Osborne, UCLA
• Alissa Pili, Utah
• Helena Pueyo, Arizona
• Kiki Rice, UCLA
• Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado
• Talia von Oelhoffen, Oregon State
• Aaronette Vonleh, Colorado
• JuJu Watkins, USC

Pac-12 Defensive Team

• Lauren Betts, UCLA
• Cameron Brink, Stanford
• Charisma Osbourne, UCLA
• Helena Pueyo, Arizona
• Jaylyn Sherrod, Colorado

Pac-12 Freshman Team

• Donovan Hunter, Oregon State
• Salvia Sellers, Washington
• Eleonora Villa, Washington State
• JuJu Watkins, USC
• Jada Williams, Arizona

Gustin named All-Big 12

BYU forward Lauren Gustin received All-Big 12 first-team honors — her fourth all-conference first-team selection since transferring from Salt Lake Community College — in the vote of league coaches announced Tuesday.

The Salem High graduate averaged 17.3 points and a nation-high 15.4 rebounds per game as a senior in 2023-24, leading the nation with 29 double-doubles in 31 games, 476 total rebounds and 10.3 defensive rebounds per game.

Gustin is the No. 4-ranked rebounder in NCAA women's basketball history and BYU's all-time reboudning leader with 1,666 career boards. She previously won all-conference honrs in the West Coast Conference, including league Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and Associated Press All-American in 2021.

BYU freshman Kailey Woolston was named All-Big 12 honorable mention after averaging the second-best 3-point shooting performance in the conference at 45.6%. Her 13.4 points per game ranks second on the team behind Gustin, as the Lone Peak graduate scored in double figures 24 times in 31 games as a freshman.

"I am super proud of Lauren and Kailey for all they accomplished in our first year in the Big 12," BYU coach Amber Whiting said in a statement from the university. "Lauren is as good at her position as anyone in the country and she is incredibly deserving of this honor. Kailey was asked to fill a void for our team, and despite being young and inexperienced at the college level, she has stepped up in every way that we needed her to."

Oklahoma's Skyler Vann and Texas' Madison Booker were named Big 12 co-players of the year, OU's Jennie Baranczyk was coach of the year and the Sooners' Payton Verhulst was named newcomer of the year.

Texas' DeYona Gaston took home sixth player of the year honors, Booker added freshman of the year, and West Virginia's JJ Quinerly was named defensive player of the year.

Joining Gustin on the All-Big 12 first team were Booker, Quinerly, Vann, Verhulst, Iowa State's Audi Crooks, Kansas' Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas' S'Mya Nichols, Kansas State's Ayoka Lee and Kansas State's Serena Sundell. Crooks, Lee, Vann and Booker were all unanimous selections.

All-Big 12 women's basketball awards

• Co-Player of the Year: Skylar Vann, Oklahoma
• Co-Player of the Year: Madison Booker, Texas
• Defensive Player of the Year: JJ Quinerly, West Virginia
• Freshman of the Year: Madison Booker, Texas
• Newcomer of the Year: Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma
• Sixth Player Award: DeYona Gaston, Texas
• Coach of the Year: Jennie Baranczyk, Oklahoma

All-Big 12 First Team

• Lauren Gustin, BYU
• Audi Crooks, Iowa State
• Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas
• S'Mya Nichols, Kansas
• Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
• Serena Sundell, Kansas State
• Skylar Vann, Oklahoma
• Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma
• Madison Booker, Texas
• JJ Quinerly, West Virginia

All-Big 12 Second Team

• Sarah Andrews, Baylor
• Kaitlin Peterson, UCF
• Madison Conner, TCU
• Aaliyah Moore, Texas
• Jordan Harrison, West Virginia

All-Big 12 Honorable Mention

Aijha Blackwell (Baylor), Dre'Una Edwards (Baylor), Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Baylor), Kailey Woolston (BYU), Jillian Hayes (Cincinnati), Laila Blair (Houston), Addy Brown (Iowa State), Zakiyah Franklin (Kansas), Holly Kersgieter (Kansas), Gabby Gregory (Kansas State), Nevaeh Tot (Oklahoma), Sahara Williams (Oklahoma), Anna Gret Asi (Oklahoma State), Sedona Prince (TCU), Shaylee Gonzales (Texas), Shay Holle (Texas), Taylor Jones (Texas), Bailey Maupin (Texas Tech), Jasmine Shavers (Texas Tech)

Big 12 All-Defensive Team

• Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas
• Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
• Shay Holle, Texas
• Jordan Harrison, West Virginia
• JJ Quinerly, West Virginia

Big 12 All-Freshman Team

• Addy Brown, Iowa State
• Audi Crooks, Iowa State
• S'Mya Nichols, Kansas
• Stailee Heard, Oklahoma State
• Madison Booker, Texas

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