March 7, 2007

ABILENE, Texas - For the second straight year, West Texas A&M guard Emily Brister dominated the Lone Star Conference, and her often brilliant play has made the sophomore from Amarillo the NCAA Division II South Central Region Player of the Year, according to the voters who determine the Daktronics all-region team, which was released Wednesday.

Brister is joined on the first team by LSC rival Kanani Marshal of Texas A&M-Commerce and three Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association standouts in Inga Buzoka of Missouri Western, Michelle Stueve of Emporia State and Brooke Ubelaker of Washburn. Brister, Stueve and Ubelaker are all repeat first team selections from 2005-06.

The second team is led by Abilene Christian sophomore center Audrey Maxwell, followed by Michelle Lieber of Montana State-Billings, Britney Jordan of Texas A&M-Commerce, Alex Guiton of Abilene Christian and Lizzie Brenner of Central Oklahoma. Texas A&M-Commerce and Abilene Christian were the only schools in the region to place two players on the team.

Brister's name appeared on 27 of 31 ballots cast, and she received a region-high eight first-place votes for 174 total points. Buzoka was the second-leading vote-getter with 161 points after she earned four first-place votes and was named on 22 of 31 ballots. Stueve actually garnered the second-most first-place votes (six) to finish with the third-highest point total in the region (152), while Ubelaker finished with 138 points (two first-place votes) and Marshal with 131 (three first-place votes).

Late last month, Brister was named the LSC South Division MVP for the second time in as many seasons as she led the Lady Buffs to a perfect 14-0 division record. Brister led the LSC in scoring for a second straight season (22.9 ppg), and she was also second in the league in steals (2.90 spg). She ranks fifth in NCAA Division II women's basketball in scoring, and she has the Lady Buffs (27-4) in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament again, this time as the No. 2 seed.

Last year as a freshman, Brister was named WBCA honorable mention All-American and selected Daktronics third team all-America. She was also named the LSC Female Athlete of the Year. After only two seasons of collegiate basketball, she already ranks in the top 10 in West Texas A&M school history in scoring with 1,387 points.

First Team

Emily Brister, G, 5-9, soph, West Texas A&M University (Amarillo, TX)

Inga Buzoka, C, 6-3, sr, Missouri Western (Saldus, Latvia)

Michelle Stueve, F, 6-2, jr, Emporia State University (Olpe, Kan.)

Brooke Ubelaker, F, 5-10, jr, Washburn University (Osborne, Kan.)

Kanani Marshal, G, 5-9, sr, Texas A&M-Commerce (Madison, Wis.)

Second Team

Audrey Maxwell, C, 6-1, soph, Abilene Christian (Abilene, Texas)

Michelle Lieber, F/C, 6-0, sr, Montana State University-Billings

Britney Jordan, G, 5-8, soph, Texas A&M-Commerce (Peoria, Ill.)

Alex Guiton, G, 5-6, jr, Abilene Christian (Fort Worth, Texas)

Lizzie Brenner, F, 5-9, soph, Central Oklahoma (Woodward, Okla.)

Story from Abilene Christian sports information