Central Oklahoma senior forward Lizzie Brenner and West Texas A&M senior guard Emily Brister were selected for Lone Star Conference Preseason Players of the Year honors for 2008-09, league officials announced Wednesday.

      Brenner was named LSC North Division Preseason Player of the Year, while Brister was a nearly unanimous pick for LSC South Division Preseason Player of the Year acclaim.  The league's preseason awards were selected by a vote of LSC head coaches and sports information directors, plus various media representatives from throughout the region.

      UCO's Brenner was the choice on nine of 19 ballots in the North, with Texas A&M-Commerce's Britney Jordan (seven) and Texas Woman's Renee Renz (three) receiving the rest of the votes.  WTAMU's Brister collected 17 of the 18 votes in the South, while Angelo State's Camille Perkins received one vote.

      Brenner returns after guiding the Bronchos to the second-winningest season in school history, first-ever divisional title and its first trip to the NCAA Division II national tournament.  She was UCO's first-ever LSC North Division Player of the Year winner and was also a first-team All-South Central Regional selection, while recording the second-best single-season scoring average (17.4) in school history while also ranking second in points scored (558) and rebounds (286).
      Brister is back after leading the Lady Buffs to a third straight divisional title and the LSC Championship a year ago.  The highly decorated senior has garnered All-American and LSC South Division Player of the Year acclaim the past three years.  She led the league in scoring for the third straight year with 21.8 points per game en route to becoming WTAMU's all-time leading scorer and eclipsing the 2,000-point mark.  She currently has 2,106 career points.

      These two players will lead their teams onto the playing court in mid-November when the 2008-09 basketball season tips off.  The LSC has 15 teams - eight in the North Division and seven in the South - set to compete this year, with each team playing a home-and-home divisional schedule and a single round of crossover games against teams for the opposite division.

      This season marks a change in the divisions as Texas Woman's was realigned to the North Division after competing in the South Division for the past 11 seasons.