Sanders represented California in the Miss USA 2003 pageant broadcast live from San Antonio, Texas in March 2003, but did not place.
On New Year's Eve, December 31, 2006, Sanders filed an action alleging domestic abuse against sportscaster Jim Lampley.
She claims that she received "injuries to my head, neck and back from his throwing me against the walls and door" of his Encinitas, CA apartment, and that he had been drinking and smoking marijuana before attacking her.
[1] On February 22, 2007, Lampley pleaded no contest to a minor violation of a temporary restraining order and all charges of domestic violence were dissolved.
At the time of her reign, Sanders was a student at Pepperdine University pursuing a double major in religion and creative writing.