Amber Guffey Named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America of the Year
2/25/2009 6:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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The honors
keep coming for the MurrayState women's basketball
senior class with the latest announcement made by ESPN tonight.Seniors Amber Guffey and Paige Guffey have
earned the women's basketball team's first ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-America First Team honors and Amber Guffey has earned the prestigious
Academic All-America of the Year award for women's basketball University
Division.
Amber Guffey joins the ranks of players like Candace Parker (Tennessee), who earned the honor in
2007-08.Both Amber and Paige are also
the first players from the same school to earn first team honors for the first
time in at least seven years.
“I am
thrilled that both Amber and Paige have earned these honors,” said head coach
Rob Cross.“It has been a great honor
for me to watch these two players grow and excel both academically and
athletically over the past four years.Both are perfect examples of what hard work and dedication can produce.”
Both Amber
and Paige are among a select few MurrayState student-athletes to
earn Academic All-America status, and even fewer to earn first team
honors.The twins join Eddie MacFarland
from the 1976 football team, and Mike Lahm from the 1984-85 men's basketball
team as the only Racer athletes to earn first team honors.
“This is an
outstanding honor for both Amber and Paige and MurrayState,”
said Athletic Director Allen Ward.“We
strive to bring in all-around student-athletes that represent the university
both on and off the court ? that is exactly what Amber and Paige have done with
their time as Racers. I couldn't be more proud of these two ladies.”
A graduate student working on her Master's degree in Human Development
and Leadership, Amber Guffey owns a perfect 4.00 G.P.A. in grad school. She
graduated from MurrayState with a degree in
Health and Physical Education and a 3.97 G.P.A.A native of Albany, Ky., she is a four-year starter at guard for
the Racers. She is the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,710 points
and stands second on the Racers' all-time list of assist leaders. A two-time
All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, she led MurrayState
to the OVC championship in 2008 and was named as the OVC Tournament's Most
Valuable Player.
As a senior, she is the second-leading scorer in the Ohio Valley
Conference with a 20.2 average and ranks 14th nationally. She is
also ranked 13th in the nation in free throw percentage (.882) and
averages 5.0 assists per game, 38th in the nation. Guffey already
holds the MurrayState career record with 196 three-point
baskets made and her .874 career free throw percentage is also the best mark in
school history. As a senior, she has led MurrayState
to an 18-7 record and league-leading 13-2 record in the OVC.
Amber Guffey was named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-District 4 Second Team and the third team in 2007.Earlier this season she was honored as the
2008 OVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the highest individual honor presented by
the conference.
Like her twin sister, Paige Guffey is pursuing a Master's degree in
Human Development and Leadership after graduating with her degree in Health and
Physical Education. She has a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. in graduate school after
earning her Bachelor's degree with a 3.97 G.P.A. A starting guard in all 25
games for the Racers this season, she is enjoying the best year of her college
career. A native of Albany, Ky.,
she is MurrayState's third-leading scorer with a 13.9
average and she leads the Racers with an .889 free throw percentage. A reserve
guard for the last three years, she helped MurrayState
win its first Ohio Valley Conference championship as a junior.
Paige earns her first team honor after being named to the ESPN The
Magazine Academic All-District 4 Third Team a season ago.
Rounding out the first team for 2008-09 are Megan Frazee (Liberty), Theresa Lisch (Saint
LouisUniversity) and
Maya Moore (Connecticut).
