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Robyn Fairbanks added another honor to her list of awards this season
  
 
Robyn Fairbanks Named 2006-07 Division I Independent Player of the Year

Julie McMurray named to all-newcomer team

March 15, 2007

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Player of the Year: Robyn Fairbanks, Utah Valley State
Defensive Player of the Year: Courtney Grimsrud, South Dakota State
Newcomer of the Year: Ivy Smith, Savannah State
Coach of the Year: Aaron Johnston, South Dakota State

Orem, Utah - Utah Valley sophomore and All-America finalist Robyn Fairbanks was named the Division I Independent Player of the Year on Thursday in a vote by head coaches and sports information/media directors from the 11 NCAA Division I independent colleges and universities.

"What an incredible honor for her," said head coach Cathy Nixon. "I'm pleased that she was recognized for an outstanding season. Teams put so much of their defensive focus on stopping her and it's a great credit to her that she was able to have the consistency that she did."

Freshman Julie McMurray was selected to the all-newcomer team while Sandy Marvin, Rebekah Peterson and McMurray earned all-independent honorable mention.

Fairbanks, a 6-foot-1 sophomore center from Raymond, Alberta, led the independents in scoring (23.7 ppg) and field goal percentage (.560, 260-464), and also ranked No. 2 in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and No. 4 in blocked shots (1.14 bpg). Nationally, she would rank No. 3 in scoring and No. 20 in field goal shooting. Fairbanks was named to the 2007 Kodak/WBCA Region 7 team and is a finalist for the All-America team.

A six-time independent Player of the Week, she had 11 "double-doubles" including a 29-point, 20-rebound effort against Boise State. She also set a school record with a 43 point performance against Montana State and became the first player in Utah Valley's NCAA history to reach 1,000 career points, a feat she surpassed in just 49 career games.

She was the 2006 Division I Independent Newcomer of the Year and also named to the all-independent first team and all-newcomer team pick in 2005-06. Fairbanks, who is one of four repeat selections on this year's all-independent team, led Utah Valley State to a 15-13 record, its best record at the NCAA level.

McMurray averaged 8.3 points in her freshman campaign, upping the average to 12.9 per contest against Division I independents. Marvin was second on the club with a 13.3 points per game average while Peterson averaged 7.4 points and 4.1 rebounds and hit 89.7% from the free-throw line.

Other awards went to South Dakota State's Courtney Grimsrud, who was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year, Savannah State's Ivy Smith as Newcomer of the Year and SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston earned Coach of the Year honors.

Fairbanks was joined on the all-independent first team by South Dakota State's Megan Vogel, North Dakota State's Lisa Bue, IPFW's Johnna Lewis-Carlisle and Savannah State's Ivy Smith. Named to the second team were Winston-Salem State's Shalonda Carter, Heather Bates of UC Davis, IPFW's Ashley Johnson, North Dakota State's Brenda Slyt and Jennifer Warkenthien of South Dakota State. Vogel and Fairbanks were named to the first-team last year, while Lewis-Carlisle and Johnson were both second-team picks in 2006.

Joining Smith and McMurray on the all-newcomer team were LeKeisha Gray and Tamara Vaughn from the University of Texas-Pan American, Anna Harp of UC Davis, and North Dakota State's Emily Moran.