(Kristina [Edwards] Lee will be inducted into the WBU Athletics Hall of Honor along with Mark Adams, Kirby Dunn, Daniel Franklin, Serenity King, Joe Lombard, Dr. Claude Lusk, Don Christa & Caren Smith, and Jodie Young during ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 in the Laney Center. Ray Murphree will be awarded the Harley Redin Coach's Award. A continental breakfast begins at 8:30. The public is invited).
Both as a basketball player and a student at Wayland Baptist University, Kristina (Edwards) Lee knew how to get things done in a hurry. An undersized post for the Flying Queens in the mid-1990s, Edwards used her quickness to outmaneuver bigger opponents and become a First-Team All-American and one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the program. And the now physician's assistant and mother of five did it in just three seasons because Edwards also sped through her work in the classroom in order to graduate early.
Edwards took enough time at Wayland, however, to appreciate the tremendous support she received as well as develop lasting friendships with coaches and teammates. "The friendships have really meant a lot to me," Edwards said.
A two-time district most valuable player and two-time all-stater at Lubbock Cooper High School where she was also a district champion high jumper and state qualifier in cross country, Edwards chose to attend Wayland and play for Coach Sheryl Estes and the Flying Queens instead of accepting a scholarship offer at Oklahoma State. It was Plainview's proximity to her home – as well as Estes' recruiting skills and the prospect of flying to games – that tilted the bar in Wayland's favor.
"Coach Estes was very good at recruiting," she said of her coach, who described Edwards in the 1992-93 media guide as "an intelligent player that possess great scoring ability. She has an unbelievable ability to score under the basket for a player her size. She uses her quickness and will be counted on for scoring and rebounding."
Also making Wayland more attractive to Edwards is that Plainview is closer to Lubbock than is Stillwater, Okla.
"I graduated (high school) when I was 17, so I was still pretty young. Plus going to Wayland gave my family a better chance to watch me play," said Edwards, who also became sold on the fact that the Flying Queens flew to almost all of their out-of-town games. "Mike (longtime Flying Queens supporter and team pilot Mike Hutcherson) flew me around while I was on a recruiting visit," Edwards recalled before adding with a laugh, "I think the only time we had to ride a bus (to away games) was to Lubbock, and we all complained about that."
Edwards' first season with the Flying Queens – 1992-93, after the team finished as NAIA runner-up the year before – was spent learning the ropes behind a pair of all-American seniors in Lisa Kolodziejczyk and Carol Bailey-Sessums. "There were a bunch of seniors in front of me and I had to wait my turn," Edwards said.
In limited playing time that season, Edwards scored 58 points and gained valuable experience in practice going against her all-American teammates. The Flying Queens fashioned a 25-9 record and advanced to the NAIA Elite Eight before falling, 79-77, to perennial power Southern Nazarene of Oklahoma, which was about to begin a four-year national title run.
Edwards became a starter her second season and her numbers improved dramatically. She averaged 13.3 points as Wayland finished 19-11, barely missing out on a return trip to Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn., after being ousted in the Southwest Regional Tournament finals by rival Midwestern State.
"My second year I did better," Edwards said.
She did even better her third and final season, and so did the Flying Queens. With Edwards averaging 22.2 points and 9.1 rebounds a game, Wayland again qualified for the national tournament, defeating Central State (Ohio) in the first round but falling in their next game to Southeastern Oklahoma, which went on to face Southern Naz for the championship.
Edwards – whose high-scoring game was 36 points against Oklahoma City in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament – led the conference in scoring and was voted NAIA First-Team and Kodak All-American. When she graduated, her 1,213 points ranked 17
th on the Flying Queens' scoring list; today she's tied for 23
rd, and eighth among players with fewer than four seasons.
At 5-foot-10, Edwards usually gave up several inches to players guarding her.
"I was definitely undersized, but I was a lot quicker than a lot of the big girls and used that to my advantage. Even though I wasn't very big, I could score against them by faking them out and going underneath," said Edwards, who shot almost 50 percent from the field her senior season and averaged 14.3 points and 6.1 rebounds over her Flying Queens career.
"I scored a lot and rebounded a lot, and held my own on defense because I was quick. We pressed a lot because we were smaller (as a team), and we did pretty well with that."
Edwards said the rapport she had with her teammates was a big plus on the floor.
"Two of my best friends were Cassie (Blaut) and Jennifer (Tucker). They were both outside shooters, and we worked really well together."
Edwards said she and Blaut and Tucker were in each other's weddings and are still close today, mostly "keeping up with how everyone's kids are doing."
One of Edwards' favorite memories at Wayland was staying up past curfew, a tradition they called "Food, Folks & Fun."
"After bed checks at 11:00 we would order pizza and just stay up and hang out in the dorm," she said. "Flying everywhere was a great thing we got to do, too. We went to Hawaii twice and California once (for tournaments). Those were great trips. We had great support and great boosters that allowed us to do that stuff."
Edwards also fondly remembers the Harlem Globetrotter-type ball-handling tricks the Flying Queens were long known for during pre-game warm-ups.
"I did a back flip with the ball between my legs. I'd land and kick it to someone for a layup," she said.
An NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete and still one of only two Flying Queens to win the NAIA's Emil Liston Award for athletic and academic achievement, Edwards said she opted to graduate in three years because in order to become a physician's assistant she "knew I had a lot of school left."
She enrolled in summer school and micro-terms at Wayland to get it done, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in biology and chemistry in 1995. Three years later she earned her PA degree at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.
Edwards now works part-time at Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock, and she and husband Lynn Lee, a native of Idalou, own LeeAgra, Inc., a farm equipment manufacturing company in Lubbock. The couple has five children: Preston, age 16; Leyton, 14; Luke, 12; Raegan, 11; and Haven, 3.
"I am so honored to be chosen to be a part of such an elite group of athletes," Edwards said of her induction into the WBU Athletics Hall of Honor. "Some of my greatest years were spent at WBU and the friendships I gained were priceless. My love for basketball still continues to this day as I have children now playing the sport, and I am looking forward to seeing it impact their lives as it did mine.
"My coaches and teammates made this award possible and I am so thankful I was a part of the Flying Queen dynasty. There are still many people today that ask where I played in college and when I tell them they say, 'You were a Flying Queen! Wow, that's cool!' What an honor. I will always cherish my time at WBU and am so grateful to be a part of the Hall of Honor."
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