HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) has named Spring Hill College women's basketball player Kristi Ybarra of Gulf Shores as the conference's 2009 winner of the Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character Award.

Ybarra, a 5-foot-2 red-shirt sophomore guard who majors in Actuarial Mathematics, averaged 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game for the Lady Badgers this season. She also handed out 31 assists and took away three steals while appearing in all 29 SHC games in 2008-09.

Despite suffering a season-ending injury in 2007-08, Ybarra bounced back in 2008-09 to become a major contributor to the Lady Badgers both on and off the court. "What really sets Kristi apart from others is her willingness to get involved with extra-curricular activities," SHC head coach Ray Fron said. "She has is a real 'go-getter.' I've spoken with her about her long and short term goals and I feel extremely confident she will achieve them."

Over the past year, Ybarra was involved in the Spring Hill College "Badger Basics" program that helps Mobile area second-graders develop math skills, worked with "Habitat for Humanity" and participated in this past Fall semester's "Feed the Children" joint-initiative between Spring Hill College and the New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).