Recent Chattanooga women’s basketball addition Sarah Owona was honored on Friday by receiving the FCSAA’s Sandy Miller Award, denoting her as the state’s top Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s basketball, the Florida College System Activities Association announced.
From a total of 36 nominees, Owona was one of 11 individuals selected by the FCSAA’s sport chairs to be named Scholar-Athlete of the Year for their respective sport. Owona, who received her associate’s degree from Florida SouthWestern State this past spring with a 3.87 cumulative GPA, emerged as the Sandy Miller Award winner, an honor granted to the top women’s basketball scholar-athlete.
“Sarah is such a special person on and off the court,” head coach Deandra Schirmer said.
“She has always prioritized academics alongside basketball and it is amazing to see her receive an honor like this recognizing all of her hard work.
“She is so deserving of all of these accolades and we can’t wait to have her here in a UTC jersey. I know this community is going to absolutely love her.”
Owona started in all 31 of the Bucs’ games during the 2024-25 season serving as a team captain despite her sophomore status, leading FSW to a Citrus Conference Championship and a trip to the NJCAA National Tournament Sweet 16. She played nearly 35 minutes per game for the Bucs on the season, averaging 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from behind the arc to earn Second Team All-Citrus Conference honors.
In the classroom she was equally as exceptional, earning NJCAA All-Academic and FCSAA All-Academic Team honors for the second-straight season while also being named a CSC Academic All-District selection.
Owona is the first Florida SouthWestern State player to ever receive the Sandy Miller Award. As the top women’s basketball scholar-athlete, Owona, along with the other 10 individual sport award winners, now advances to be considered for the FCSAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. The winner of the 2025 FCSAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award will be announced on July 3, along with the rest of the FCSAA’s annual awards.