| Rae Rippetoe-Blair | Monica Gibbs |
SAN ANTONIO ? Postseason honors continue to be handed out to the UTSA women's basketball team, as Southland Conference Coach of the Year Rae Rippetoe-Blair and SLC Player of the Year Monica Gibbs will be named as Coach and Player of the Year, respectively, by the Texas Basketball Association of Coaches (TBAC) on Thursday at the organization's annual convention at Municipal Auditorium.
"It's a great honor and privilege to receive this award from the TBAC," Rippetoe-Blair said. "This award is being given to me based on what our program achieved this season, but my players and staff deserve most of the credit. I'm proud Monica is being recognized as the best player in the state. She had a great season helping us go back to the NCAA Tournament and she deserves this award."
Rippetoe-Blair just concluded her ninth season and led the Roadrunners to a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. She guided UTSA to a school-record 24 victories (24-9), its second consecutive 20-win season, and a share of the league's regular season title.
Meanwhile, Gibbs ended her stellar four-year career as the program's all-time assists (693) and rebounds leader (990). In the her final campaign, the Stillwater, Okla., native produced career bests in scoring (15.6), rebounds (9.4) and assists (SLC-best 6.7) per game. She tied a 23-year-old NCAA single-season record with three triple-doubles and registered 40 doubles-doubles during her outstanding career. Gibbs posted career single-game bests in points (29), rebounds (15) and assists (15) last year. A guard, she also was a five-time SLC Player of the Week winner this past year.