March 5, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - Central Oklahoma's Lizzie Brenner and East Central's Lacey Goldwire shared Player of the Year recognition in the North Division and West Texas A&M's Emily Brister claimed top honors in the South Division as the Lone Star Conference women's basketball postseason awards were announced Tuesday by league officials.

In addition to Brister, who claimed first team honors, the Lady Buffs were represented by Courtney Lee on the second team and Jamie Dreiling, who drew honorable mention accolades.

The awards announcement came Tuesday night at a pre-tournament banquet in Bartlesville, Okla., where the LSC Basketball Championship tournament is set to begin on Thursday. Quarterfinal games will be played all day Thursday, with semifinal games slated for Saturday afternoon and the championship game on Sunday.

Brenner, Goldwire and Brister received top honors by collecting the most votes in the balloting of league coaches.

Brenner guided the Bronchos to a share of its first-ever North Division title, while Goldwire was the second leading scorer in the LSC with 21.1 points per game. They were joined on the All-LSC North Division first team by Texas A&M Commerce's Britney Jordan, Northeastern State's Jezzal Quintana and Southwestern Oklahoma's Lucy Ramon.

Junior Emily Brister was named LSC South Player of the Year for the third straight season (Photo by Michael Johnson)

Brister received all possible first-place votes to earn her third consecutive Player of the Year award as a junior. She led WTAMU to the South title with a 13- 1 conference record while pacing the league in scoring with 21.4 points per game. Joining Brister on the All-LSC South Division first team was Texas Woman's Renee Renz, Abilene Christian's Audrey Maxwell and Alex Guiton, and Angelo State's Camille Perkins.

Additional hardware was handed out for defensive player, newcomer, freshman and coach of the year.

In the North Division, UCO's Cristina Yarbrough and SWOSU's Allie Burdan shared Defensive Player of the Year acclaim, while Southeastern Oklahoma's Destiny Brown and Cameron's Jasmine Parr were Co-Newcomers of the Year. SWOSU's Ramon earned Freshman of the Year honors and Northeastern State's Randy Gipson was picked as Coach of the Year.

In the South, WTAMU's Courtney Lee earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, while TWU's Renz was Newcomer of the Year. ASU's Perkins was tabbed for Freshman of the Year, while ACU's Shawna Lavender was named Coach of the Year.

Overall, a total of 40 student-athletes were honored by the all-conference program, including at least one member from each of the 15 LSC women's basketball teams. The awards are voted upon by the league coaches.