May 6, 2010

WACO, Texas - Women's basketball player Morghan Medlock is one of five recipients selected by the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A) to receive the association's Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award.

The Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award honors student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics. Other recipients beside Medlock are Wilson Holloway (Tulsa), Mary Isom (LSU), Rickey Thernarse (Nebraska) and Megan Mahoney (Marist).

Medlock, a Pasadena, Calif., native, will receive her award on Saturday, June 12, at the N4A national convention in Salt Lake City.

Her mother, Shannan Barron, was murdered during the 2008-09 basketball season, Medlock's first at Baylor. Medlock, even though she was grief stricken, did not miss a game. She was able to continue to excel on the basketball court, take care of business in the classroom and deal with all of the pressures of settling her mother's estate.

Medlock started in 35 of 37 games, averaging 9.7 points and 7.6 rebounds as a senior in 2009-10. She was the team's second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer and helped the Lady Bears to the NCAA Final Four and a 27-10 record. In her two seasons at Baylor, Medlock scored 602 points and hauled down 438 rebounds.

"Morghan Medlock is so deserving of this award, she has endured more in her young life than most of us experience in a lifetime," said Lady Bear head coach Kim Mulkey. "Morghan has handled adversity like the true champion that she is and has demonstrated that she can handle whatever life throws at her and still come out on top."

The Rudolph Award is named after the former track and field standout. Rudolph became the first American female athlete to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games. At the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome, she won gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100-meter relay.