NAU freshman guard Amy Patton and junior guard Vickie Toney were recognized by the Big Sky Conference as Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, respectively, the league office announced on Monday.
Patton, who set the NAU single-season record for points scored, also picked up All-Big Sky second-team honors.
"I am really excited. Freshman player of the year was one of my goals," Patton said. "I am happy to have achieved it. Second team is a nice bonus as well. That is really exciting and I am looking forward to building on top of that for next year."
In her first year as a Lumberjack, Patton was the second-leading scorer in the Big Sky with 18.6 points per game and the top rebounder with 8.6 per game.
She ranked No. 24 in all of NCAA Division I women's basketball in scoring and was the fourth-best freshman scorer in the country.
Patton also finished first in the Big Sky with 13 double-doubles, four 30-point games, and had 14 games where she pulled in 10 or more rebounds. The Tempe product was tied for 27th in NCAA Division I women's basketball in double-doubles, and she finished with more than twice as many double-doubles than any other player in the conference.
In the 16-game Big Sky schedule, she led the league in points (20.3) and rebounding (9.6). She also scored 35 points against Sacramento State, the highest total in the league this season.
In the Lumberjacks' final game of the season against Montana State in the Walkup Skydome, Patton scored 10 points, pushing her season total to 539 points, which was one point ahead of Mindy Sherred, who scored 538 points during the 1986-87 season.
Earlier this year, Patton was named Big Sky Conference Co-Player of the Week for games played from Jan. 4-10.
Toney, the league's top newcomer, sat out the 2008-09 year due to NCAA transfer rules after playing her freshman season at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. In her first season playing for NAU, Toney finished the year nationally ranked in assists per game.
She was 60th in Division I women's basketball with 4.7 assists per game.
"It shows I had a good team around me," said Toney of the Newcomer of the Year award. "I could not have accomplished what I did this year without the talent around me. It was a disappointing season in terms of our record, but I am fortunate to be honored. Now it is time to get ready for next season."
Toney, from Chicago, Ill., finished fifth in the Big Sky Conference in assists per game and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2).
The Jacks completed their season Saturday with a loss to Montana State. NAU finished 5-24 on the season and picked up three conference wins.
