Sept. 14, 2003

ABILENE, Texas - Former Hardin-Simmons basketball player Kendra Anderson has been named the Texas representative as the NCAA Woman of the Year the organization announced on Friday.

This prestigious award honors outstanding female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership and have completed their collegiate athletics eligibility.

About 340 student-athletes were nominated for this year's award by their colleges and universities. A committee comprised of representatives from member schools selected the state winners.

Those chosen as state winners are truly exceptional young women. Of the 50 state finalists, seven competed on national championship teams. Nearly 40 were selected as athletic all-Americans and more than 30 were named academic all-Americans. More than 35 served as their team captains or co-captains. One competed in the Olympics and others competed in the Pan American and World Games.

The state winners had an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.68, with three posting perfect 4.0 GPAs. They graduated with a variety of majors, including international business, computer system engineering, microbiology, biochemistry, architecture and neuroscience.

The state-level winners include 29 student-athletes from Division I, nine student-athletes from Division II and 12 student-athletes from Division III. These student-athletes participated in 17 of the 20 sports in which women compete for NCAA championships, including basketball, field hockey, skiing, golf, rowing and soccer.

A national winner - the NCAA Woman of the Year - will be selected by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics from among 10 finalists. The finalists will be announced in late September.

The national winner will be announced at the 2003 NCAA Woman of the Year dinner Saturday, November 1, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. This is the thirteenth year that this award - one of the top honors the NCAA bestows - will be given.

Anderson compiled an impressive senior campaign capped with her selection as the NCAA Division III National Player of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. She was cited by several organizations for All-America and All-Region honors after helping take the Cowgirls to the NCAA Div. III Championship Sweet 16, a fifth consecutive American Southwest Conference title and fourth straight conference tournament title.

She won an unprecedented fourth Most Valuable Player award at the American Southwest Conference tournament. Anderson averaged 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds and was named the ASC West Division Most Valuable Player for the third straight year after leading the Cowgirls through an undefeated regular season.

Anderson capped her collegiate career as the NCAA Div. III representative in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Challenge played during the NCAA Div. I Final Four weekend. An ASC All-Academic award winner, Anderson was named to the Verizon Academic all-American and all-District VI teams. She also clained her second consecutive ASC Female Athlete of the Year last year.

For the bios on the state winners please go to http://www.ncaa.org/awards/woty/2003/2003_state_winners.html.

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