| Monica Gibbs | Rae Rippetoe-Blair |
FRISCO ? The league office announced its end-of-year awards on Monday and senior guard Monica Gibbs was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and the circuit's top defender, while ninth-year head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair was tabbed the conference's Coach of the Year.
Gibbs became the first player in program history to earn the league's top award and she is just the third Roadrunner to be named to back-to-back first teams (Nikki Hendrix 2003-04/Vivian Ewalefo 2005-06). Coupled with her Defensive Player of the Year honor, she is only the second player in the conference history to win two individual awards in the same year (Lamar’s Shanta Vanzanat 2001).
The Stillwater, Okla, native has produced career highs across the board in her final campaign, scoring 15.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. She also has tied a 23-year-old NCAA single-season record with three triple-doubles. Gibbs has posted 24 double-figure scoring games, including eight in a row to end the regular season, and 15 contests with 10 or more rebounds. She has posted career single-game bests in points (29), rebounds (15) and assists (15). Gibbs leads the league in assists (6.7 apg), ranks third in scoring (15.5 ppg) and stands fourth in rebounding (9.4 rpg). The senior guard also was a five-time SLC Player of the Week winner this season, which led the circuit.
Rippetoe-Blair picked up her third SLC Coach of the Year trophy after leading UTSA to its second straight 20-win season (21-8) and a share of the conference regular season title. She was first honored with the award in 2001 and again two years later.
| Onika Anderson | Ryba Pawlaczyk |
Senior Onika Anderson, the league's 2008 Newcomer of the Year and second-team selection, joined Gibbs on the first team. The Pine Bluff, Ark., native ranks second on the team with 13 double-doubles, is averaging a league-best 10.3 rebounds per game and ranks second with a 53.2 field goal percentage. She is second on the team at 13.2 points per contest, which is sixth best in the SLC, and also has been in double figures 18 times.
Meanwhile, senior Ryba Pawlaczyk was an honorable mention choice. The Wroclaw, Poland, native has registered career highs with 10.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Her 52 blocks this season rank second in the league (1.8 pg).
The second-seeded Roadrunners begin defense of their 2008 SLC Tournament Championship when they face No. 7 McNeese State (14-15) at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Merrell Center in Katy.