KRISTEN LYE OF TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY, a senior on the women’s basketball team, has been selected the SCAC Character Female Student-Athlete of the Week for the period beginning January 23, 2017.
Lye, a San Antonio native, is a four-year letter-winner for the Bulldogs. She has been instrumental in the Bulldogs’ success over the past four seasons. Lye has been a force on TLU’s 2014 NCAA Tournament team, the 2014 SCAC Tournament Championship and SCAC Regular-Season Championship squad, and the 2015 SCAC Regular-Season Championship team.
Lye has twice been named to the SCAC All-Tournament Team and was selected to the First Team All-Conference squad in 2016 after a Third Team All-Conference selection in 2015.
A power forward for the Bulldogs, Lye currently has the Bulldogs atop the 2016-17 SCAC Women’s Basketball standings with a 14-4 overall record and a 6-1 mark in conference play.
Lye leads the Bulldogs in rebounding, at 9.5 per game, and she is second on the team in scoring, at 12.8 per contest. Among all NCAA Division III women’s basketball players this season, Lye ranks 29th in double-doubles recorded. She has nine.
Lye has climbed up the all-time TLU scoring and rebounding charts. She currently sits sixth all-time in scoring, with 1,098 points, and she is fourth all-time in rebounding, with 719.
Together with her senior classmates Savannah Hight, Cierra Jordan, Caitlin Rendon, Bailey Champion, Caitlin Cote, Tiffany Dziuk and Sarah Flournoy, Lye is part of the TLU senior class that has posted the most wins over four seasons. Entering this weekend’s contests, the Bulldogs senior class of 2016-17 is 68-31 with a winning percentage of .687.
Off the court, Lye and her teammates volunteer at Eden Cross Apartments in Seguin. Eden Cross is an affordable rental housing community for seniors age 62 and older.
“As a team, every semester we go to Eden Cross, and we volunteer there together,” said Lye. “We do things for the elderly residents there – like clean their windows, go inside and basically do anything that they want to be done. And afterwards, we play games with them – like Bunco – which is always fun.”
“Sometimes we will go on Thursdays, like once a month. That is fun to do as a team because it is both helping others and creating unity (on the team), especially the preseason one where everyone gets to know each other and the post-season one where everyone is already together in units. It’s a fun way to come together after the season.”
Lye emphasized that the Bulldogs receive plenty in return for their service at Eden Cross.
“I learned that you will always need help at a time in your life,” said Lye. “Giving help when you are able to do is important because at some point you will need the help. You are helping but you are also receiving.”
A three-time nominee for CoSIDA Academic All-America and a member of the TLU Honors Program, Lye holds a perfect 4.0 grade point average as a kinesiology major. She has specializations in exercise science and sports management. Lye is scheduled to graduate in May 2017 and plans to do exercise research as well as research in the areas of battlefield health and trauma at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio. After her research time at BAMC, she intends to enter graduate school.
Lye is the daughter of Bob and Caryn Lye of San Antonio. Kristen has two older brothers, Bobby and Garrett.