MONMOUTH, Ill. – When Ashley Yeast (Sciota, Ill./West Prairie) walked off the court after her last basketball game as a member of the Monmouth College women’s basketball team, little did she know she would still be competing six months later.

Yeast, who played basketball and volleyball for the Fighting Scots, won’t be battling for position or approaching the net for a kill in her current competition. The graduated accounting and business major now finds herself competing for the NCAA’s prestigious Woman of the Year (WOTY) award, given annually to a female athlete who has distinguished herself, not only in the athletic arena, but also in the classroom and community.

An outside hitter on the volleyball court and a center in basketball, Yeast is following in the footsteps of her basketball coach Melissa (Jones) Bittner, who was the Illinois state winner and a top 10 finalist for the national award in 2003.

Yeast’s path is a bit different from her coach’s. When Bittner competed, the NCAA selected winners by state, but since the 2005-06 season, nominees have been selected by each conference, with that pool being narrowed to the top 10 in each of the NCAA’s three divisions. The top 30 will be honored at a banquet on Oct. 19 in Indianapolis. The NCCA will announce the field of 30 finalists later this month.

“The group (of nominees) was very strong and competitive,” said Midwest Conference commissioner Chris Graham when he announced Yeast as the conference’s representative in the national competition. “We had a record number of nominations this year and the final rankings by the Awards and Recognition Committee were extremely close.”

A dean’s list student throughout her collegiate career, Yeast was named ESPN the Magazine academic all-district three times and has six academic all-conference honors. Additionally, she was named all-conference in basketball three times. She led the nation in Division III in rebounding during her junior year and holds every women’s rebounding record at Monmouth. As a volunteer, Yeast has served with 18 different agencies during her four years at Monmouth.

Yeast is the daughter of Steve and Judy Yeast of Sciota. She is currently employed by Deere and Company in Moline.