Senior Roxana Button is having a great individual season for the Cougars.
She leads Conference USA in points per game (17.9), minutes per game (37.9), 30-point games (three) and 20-point games (13) and she added another proverbial banner to the her list of accomplishments on Thursday.
Button was named to the Capital One Academic All-America team. She was named to the Division I First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
She is the first UH women’s basketball player to be selected for this honor.
Button is the first C-USA player to attain this award in 11 seasons. She joins Anne McDonald of DePaul (1998-99) as the only C-USA players to be selected to the first team.
In addition to Button, this year’s First Team includes Elena Delle Donne of Delaware, Caroline Durbin of New Mexico, Amanda Johnson of Oregon and Glory Johnson of Tennessee.
Button believes that her faith helped guide her to success.
“Its a great honor, but all the glory goes to God,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without his strength.”
This season, despite the immense number of challenges for the Cougars, has been the culmination of years of hard work and dedication for Button. She has reached many milestones during her last campaign in a UH uniform.
Button became the 22nd player in UH history to reach 1,000 career points. She is third all-time in three-point percentage (34.8) and free throw percentage (76%), and sixth in made 3-pointers (124) and minutes played (2,900).
It hasn’t sunk in for Button yet.
“To tell you the truth I haven’t thought about it,” she said. “Maybe in April or May I might look back and look at it, but right now I don’t.”
Button has also proven to be durable over the course of her career, competing in 118 consecutive games, UH’s second longest streak.
Head coach Todd Buchannan admires her grit.
“She’s as tough as they come,” he said.
“As tough, as gritty, as gutty as a kid I’ve ever coached in 23 years and that’s on the men’s side, women’s side, it doesn’t matter.”
Button has succeeded off the court this season as a student. She graduated this December with a degree in psychology. She finished with a 3.87 GPA.
Coach Buchanan said that Button has been a great role model and strong pillar for the program.
“She has just absolutely represented the University of Houston, our women’s basketball program, our athletic department and programs as a whole.
“She’s as classy and as full, least well rounded rounded as she possibly can.”
Button’s collegiate career is not over. She plans to attend the Paul F. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso and pursue a career as a medical doctor.