April 28, 2008

SAN DIEGO - Seven current and former Aztec women's basketball players will be among the 218 student-athletes recognized at the 14th annual San Diego State Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet on Monday evening at Montezuma Hall in Aztec Center. SDSU alumna and Fox Sports broadcaster Jeanne Zelasko will emcee the event, which honors student-athletes with at least a 3.0 cumulative or 3.2 semester GPA during the calendar year of 2007.

The seven women's basketball players who will be honored Monday include Shanna Demus, Kate Eveland, Paris Johnson, Tamika Lipford and Kim Spinardi. Former players Jessica Huettl and Jordie Smith will also receive awards for their work during the 2007 spring semester.

Demus, who earned the department's Academic Initiative Medal at last year's banquet, completed her undergraduate degree in criminal justice in May of 2007, and is finishing her first year of graduate studies in postsecondary leadership. A member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, Eveland has been an SDSU scholar-athlete and a Dean's List member every semester and will earn her bachelor's degree in international business with a 3.76 GPA next month.

Johnson is a communications major who started every game in 2007-08 as a true freshman, garnering conference honorable mention honors. Lipford has a 3.43 grade-point average and will be graduating later this year with her bachelor's degree in political science with future plans of attending law school. Spinardi, meanwhile, is majoring in accounting and is one of three Aztecs to earn scholar-athlete accolades both semesters in 2007.

In addition, Eveland and Lipford are among just 26 Aztecs who will be honored as Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athletes with a 3.5 GPA or better during the 2006-07 season.

The five current players were also acknowledged for their work in the classroom last week at the Aztecs' annual team banquet, as were senior Shannon Clay and freshman Coco Davis, who were named the squad's most improved scholar-athletes.

Women's Basketball Scholar-Athletes
Shanna Demus (Fall 2007)
Kate Eveland (Spring 2007, Fall 2007)
Jessica Huettl (Spring 2007)
Paris Johnson (Fall 2007)
Tamika Lipford (Spring 2007, Fall 2007)
Jordie Smith (Spring 2007)
Kim Spinardi (Spring 2007, Fall 2007)

Aztec Basketball Team Scholar-Athlete Awards (SDSU GPA above 3.0)
Shanna Demus, Kate Eveland, Paris Johnson, Tamika Lipford, Kim Spinardi

Aztec Basketball Most Improved Scholar-Athletes
Shannon Clay, Coco Davis