BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Lee's Anna Muhonen was recognized as Gulf South Conference Champion Scholar-Athletes for basketball during the conference tournament at Samford University's Pete Hana Center this past weekend.

During the GSC tournament, Muhonen displayed why she is more than a scholar by tallying 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the Lady Flames knocked off rival Union University in the semifinal round. She came back in the championship game with 10 points before fouling out in a hard-fought loss to Valdosta State.

The junior, who played at Bradley Central High School, earned her first Champion Scholar-Athlete Award, while boasting a 4.00 grade point average as an Interdisciplinary Studies major. She is the third Lady Flames women's basketball player to earn the award joining Micah Black, who won it during the 2021-22 academic year and Megan Carbaugh who was recognized last season. Since the award began in 2019-20, Lee's student-athletes have been recognized 11 times.

The 2023-24 Lady Flames basketball team takes pride in its classroom accomplishments and is currently carrying a 3.667 overall average heading into the NCAA DII National Tournament at Valdosta, Ga. on Friday.
 
This is the fifth year that the Gulf South Conference has presented the Champion Scholar-Athlete Award. The award is given out at the final site of each GSC Championship event and awarded to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA among the teams participating. Each student-athletes GPA is based on the most recently completed term, and the individual must have a minimum of 48 credit hours to be eligible for the award. Student-athletes are only eligible to win the award once per academic year.