NAU's Patton named to All-Big Sky first team

OGDEN, Utah – After leading the Big Sky in scoring while ranking second in steals per game and third in rebounds per game, women’s basketball senior Amy Patton became the first NAU player since 2007 to be an All-Big Sky First Team selection when the conference announced its awards Monday.

Patton becomes only the second player in program history to be a four-time All-Big Sky selection after she was named to the all-conference second team in each of her first three seasons at NAU while also earning Big Sky Outstanding Freshman honors. She joins 2012 NAU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Alyssa Wahl as the only four-time NAU All-Big Sky honorees, as Wahl was the last NAU player to be named to the first team following her senior season in 2007.

Patton led the Big Sky in scoring for the entire 2012-13 season, finishing with 17.2 points per game and more than two points per game better than any other conference player. She totaled 24 games with double-digit scoring totals and eight games with 20 or more points with three games with 30 or more points (the rest of the Big Sky totaled one such game). She also tied the Big Sky record with a career-high 41 points in November against Bradley.

Patton trailed only Weber State’s Regina Okoye with 2.4 steals per game, recording a program-record 10 vs. Bradley, and ranked third in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game including a career-high 18 boards at Sacramento State. She led the team in points, rebounds, steals, field goals, and minutes played for the third consecutive year and totaled seven double-doubles this year to rank third in the conference.

During her senior season Patton shattered NAU’s all-time scoring record while also establishing new program records for career rebounds (831), field goals made (738), field goals attempted (1,860), and 3-point field goals attempted (625) while tying the record for career 3-point field goals made (193). Her 1,938 career points are the fifth most in Big Sky history while she also ends her career second in NAU history in steals (225), minutes played (3,744), and points per game (16.7).

Patton recorded three of the five highest scoring single seasons in program history, including a record 539 points as a freshman and 500 points this year.