OGDEN, Utah (March 10, 2010) - The Big Sky Conference has announced the Women’s Basketball All-Conference team and individual award winners for the 2009-10 season. The awards were decided following a vote by the league’s nine head coaches. Weber State earned recognition as Tonya Schnibbe and Caitlin Anderson earned Honorable Mentions.

Julie Piper became the first Eastern Washington player in Big Sky history to earn the league’s Most Valuable Player Award. The junior was a unanimous selection to the first team, along with Idaho State senior Oana Iacovita. This is the first time either has been named to the all-conference first team.

Montana State’s Sarah Strand and Eastern Washington’s Brianne Ryan have been selected as the league’s Co-Defensive Players of the Year. Northern Arizona’s Amy Patton was a unanimous selection for Freshman of the Year, while teammate Vickie Toney was named Newcomer of the Year.

Piper, a 6-1 forward from Roseburg, Ore., averaged 12.1 points per game overall and 12.6 in league play to help the Eagles to their first-ever outright regular season conference title. She is third in the Big Sky with 7.8 rebounds per game and leads the league in offensive rebounds with 3.3 per game, along with ranking fourth in field goal percentage (.469). Piper tallied 20 points, 13 rebounds, and one blocked shot in Eastern Washington’s 78-68 victory over the Portland State, delivering her fifth double-double of the season.

Ryan and Strand we recognized for the outstanding defensive play throughout the season. Ryan lead the Eagles defense as the no. 1 defender, drawing matchups against the opponent’s top scoring threat. She had excellent defensive games against the league’s top scorers, including holding Portland State’s Claire Fuacher to just 11 points in Saturday’s finale.

Strand tops the conference with 59 blocked shots, collecting seven in one game against Sacramento State and six in a matchup with Winthrop. The junior from Seattle, Wash., averaged 4.6 defensive rebounds per game along with being an excellent on-ball defender. During the season Strand was named Big Sky Player of the Week twice.

Northern Arizona’s Amy Patton finished the season as the league’s top rebounder with 8.6 per game and was second in scoring at 18.6 per game. During the season the Tempe, Ariz. product posted four 30-point games, including a league season high of 35 against Sacramento State. The freshman also tallied 13 double-doubles this season, that total is more than double than any other player in the conference.

Fellow Lumberjack Vickie Toney, from Chicago, Ill., was named Top Newcomer by the coaches. The transfer from Lamar University finished the season 5th in league with 4.7 assists per game and 7th in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.2.  During conference play she improved on these numbers with 5.3 assist per game and a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Schnibbe averaged 11.2 points per game and was second in the conference in assists/game. Anderson averaged 12.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game until a knee injury ended her season with three games left on the schedule. Anderson ranked 10th in the Big Sky in scoring and was seventh in rebounds.