On Friday, the Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Lindenwood women's basketball standout, Julia Ruzevich, as the GLVC Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award winner as the league's female athlete of the year.
 
"I feel incredibly blessed and honored to receive the Richard F. Scharf Paragon Award," said Ruzevich.  "Receiving the highest award the GLVC has to offer validates all of the sacrifices I have endured for the sport that I love.  It is truly an honor to represent all the female athletes within the GLVC."
 
"Julia is the prime example of what a student-athlete is, and for her to be the recipient of this award is such a perfect way to wrap up a phenomenal career," said head coach Katie Falco.  "She is one of the most driven and committed athletes I have ever coached.  Her accomplishments are a direct reflection to the excellence she brought to the sport, classroom, and every part of her life.  We are proud to have her represent our women's basketball program, Lindenwood University, and the GLVC."
 
Ruzevich is the first student-athlete – male or female – from Lindenwood to win the GLVC's most prestigious honor.  The 2022 GLVC Player of the Year earned a plethora of awards after averaging a double-double of 20 points and 11.4 rebounds during her senior season.  Ruzevich picked up an all-GLVC first team nod, and was an all-region and All-America selection by both the WBCA and D2CCA in her final year on campus.  The graduate student was also a first-team honoree after the 2020-21 campaign, and earned five GLVC Player of the Week honors during her career.
 
Despite only being with Lindenwood for three seasons, Ruzevich will go down as one of the best to come through the program.  A product of Marist High School, Ruzevich surpassed 1,000 career points this season, while scoring 20 or more points in 14 games and registering 14 double-doubles. The 6-1 guard scored a career-high 35 points, and pulled down 20 rebounds in this year's GLVC Tournament first round game against Rockhurst.  Ruzevich grabbed 23 rebounds in a win over Southwest Baptist in January to give her the second-most rebounds ever by a Lindenwood player in a game during the NCAA era.
 
The Orland Park, Ill. native completed her Master's in Business Administration, sporting a 3.82 GPA, and finished her undergraduate degree with a 3.95 GPA for Summa Cum Laude laurels while studying Mass Communication and minoring in Pre-Medicine.  Ruzevich was twice named academic all-GLVC, and is on track to win her third accolade of the sort.  Moreover, Ruzevich was a 2020-21 GLVC Brother James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar honoree for achieving a 4.0 GPA during the course of the academic year.
 
While having an impressive resume both on the court and in the classroom, Ruzevich's activities in the community are just as impressive.  Ruzevich spent time volunteering in the medical field, whether she was volunteering with at-home care of geriatric patients, giving back to the kids in the Pediatric Unit at the Missouri Baptist Hospital, or making blankets for ICU patients at the Loyola Hospital.  If she was not volunteering in hospitals, Ruzevich would be giving back to athletics by working basketball camps, training Special Olympics athletes, helping with game operations for youth basketball contests, or serving as a mentor in the Lindenwood Athlete Mentor Program.  Furthermore, Ruzevich helped with the St. Louis Food Bank soup kitchen, assisted with two different 5K runs, and volunteered at a dog shelter.