Oct. 5, 2009

RICHARDSON, Texas – West Texas A&M basketball standout Emily Brister was named the NCAA Division II South Central Region’s 2008-09 Female Scholar-Athlete of the year, as announced by the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association on Friday.

Brister was a four-year star for the Lady Buffs, helping them to the 2006, 2008 and 2009 Lone Star Conference championships. She holds 10 WTAMU records, including the career scoring mark, a record she broke during her junior year. She finished with 2,645 points, 657 ahead of the old WTAMU record and only 125 shy of the LSC record. She was the LSC Female Athlete of the Year all four years of her career, in addition to being the NCAA South Central women’s basketball player of the year her last three years and a 2009 WBCA Division II All-American.

Off the court, Brister was an extremely dedicated scholar, graduating with a 3.91 GPA in elementary bilingual education. She was named a CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American in 2008 and 2009, and was a two-time recipient of the Lone Star Conference Fred Jacoby Academic Athlete of the Year award. Brister was also a three-time winner of the LSC South Division Academic Player of the Year in basketball.

Wingate University’s Anna Atkinson was named the national women’s winner.

The awards, sponsored by Disney Sports Attractions, provide the opportunity for Division II to highlight the extraordinary achievements of its student-athletes.