April 18, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Paige Anderson, a signee of the Samford women's basketball team, was named the Larry D. Striplin Scholar-Athlete Award winner at the Bryant-Jordan Awards dinner Monday evening at the downtown Sheraton.

"This was really a special honor because it deals with academics," Anderson said. "A lot of times in athletics, you don't get recognized for your work in academics. A lot of people think that, because you're an athlete, you don't work as hard in the classroom. But, it was nice to see so many athletes here (at the awards banquet) with high test scores that work hard on academics."

Anderson, a senior at Spring Garden High School, has a 4.0 GPA. In addition to the overall Scholar Athlete Award, representatives from each of the state's six classifications were awarded, with Anderson winning the 1A Scholar Athlete Award. The overall award and the 1A award each carry $3,000 scholarships for Anderson.

Anderson will be the valedictorian of her senior class, and she currently serves as SGA President, senior class president, editor of the school's yearbook and a Beta Club official.

In her time at Spring Garden, Anderson led her team to three state championships and she was named the Most Valuable Player of this year's 1A Final Four. Anderson was the state's 1A Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Miss Basketball Award. She was also selected to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game.

Anderson set a school record for career scoring by reaching the 3,000-point mark. She also owns the school record for points in a game with 56.

Anderson said she is looking forward to coming to Samford in the fall.

"I'm excited about it," Anderson said. "I like the coaches, and I've met some of the girls, and really liked them too."

Anderson will join a team coming off the best season in program history. In 2007-08, Samford set a school record with 23 wins, and reached the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the third year in a row.