Press Release :: Women's Basketball Coaches Association

ATLANTA - The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced today that Gulf Coast Community College's Demauria Liles has been named the State Farm/WBCA Junior College/Community College (JC/CC) Player of the Year. The WBCA presents this award annually to the top players in each of the following WBCA collegiate divisions (NCAA Divisions II, III, NAIA and JC/CC) and high school.

"I am honored to award Demauria with the State Farm/WBCA JC/CC Player of the Year Award," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "She has taken her game to a new level this year and has proved to be the best JC/CC player in the country."

Liles, a sophomore, adds the State Farm/WBCA JC/CC Player of the Year honor to an already impressive list of awards that includes 2008 Florida Community College Activities Association Player of the Year and All-Region 8 accolades. A year ago, she was a finalist for the United States U19 World Championship team. The 6'0 forward has guided Gulf Coast CC to a 32-1 record this season with 11.1 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game while leading the team in blocked shots and steals. Liles will lead the No. 3 Commodores on March 18 as they begin play in the National Junior College Athletics Association Division I Women's Basketball Championship Tournament in Salina, Kan. A native of Suitland, Md., Liles will return to her home state this fall to complete her collegiate eligibility at No. 6 Maryland.

"Congratulations to State Farm/WBCA JC/CC Player of the Year Demauria Liles," said Mark D. Gibson, Assistant Vice President of Advertising at State Farm. "Her outstanding accomplishments as a student-athlete, on and off the court, make her truly deserving of this wonderful honor. We look forward to seeing Demauria fulfill the rest of her basketball dreams."

The State Farm/WBCA Player of the Year Award is selected by the ten-member WBCA Player of the Year Committee, which consists of one WBCA-member coach from each of the nine WBCA JC/CC Regions and the committee chair.

Liles will be formally presented her award at the WBCA Awards Luncheon presented by State Farm and Jostens on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at Noon (ET) in the Marriott Waterside's Grand Ballroom. The luncheon is part of the WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women's Final Four® in Tampa Bay, Fla.

About State Farm
State Farm(r) insures more cars than any other insurer in North America and is the leading U.S. home insurer. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve over 75 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.6 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No.22 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com(r) or in Canada statefarm.ca(tm).

About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. For additional information about the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.