April 29, 2008

CANYON, Texas - After garnering All-American honors each of the last three seasons for her standout play on the court, West Texas A&M's Emily Brister has been recognized for outstanding work in the classroom as she was selected as a first team Academic All-American by ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA.

Brister was named the LSC South Division Player of the Year for the third straight season as she led the Lady Buffs to a regular season title - with a 13-1 division record - followed by the Lady Buffs' ninth LSC Tournament championship and the No. 1 seed for the NCAA-II South Central Regional Tournament. She was named the LSC Tournament MVP after averaging 25.7 points per game in the Lady Buffs' three-game run to the LSC title in Bartlesville, Okla.

WT's standout led the LSC in scoring for the third straight season (21.8 ppg), and she led the league in steals (3.06 per game). Additionally, she finished the season ranked sixth in the NCAA in scoring and 20th in the nation in steals.

Additionally this year, Brister was voted first team Daktronics All-America and was an honorable mention selection by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The three-time LSC Female Athlete of the Year, Brister became West Texas A&M's all-time leading scorer in a late-season two-point win over Abilene Christian - which clinched the LSC regular season crown and the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament - as she broke former Lady Buff Celeste Stevenson's 1,993 career points mark. Three days later, Brister became the first Lady Buff in program history to eclipse the 2,000-point mark and currently has 2,085 career points.