PATTON PREFERS BEING HART'S FLOOR GENERAL SOPHOMORE ENJOYS PASSING MORE THAN SCORING.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

It's a tale of two heroic efforts, less than 24 hours apart.

In the waning minutes of a Simi Valley tournament game last month, Hart point guard Amanda Patton made three 3-pointers to lift the Indians to a narrow victory over Grant.

The next night, in the championship game against Simi Valley, Patton made a smart cut under the basket and assisted on Ali Campbell's game-winning shot, sending the Hart portion of the crowd into celebration and chants of ``Ali . . . Ali . . . Ali.''

So, which was the bigger moment for Patton? You might be surprised.

``The assist, definitely,'' Patton said. ``It's fun to score a lot of points, but I enjoy passing a lot more. I enjoy making the big play and hearing the crowd say, `Wow, that was a great pass.'

``Plus it helped us win a big game.''

Comments such as those make Hart coach Dave Munroe smile, and are a key reason why Patton has established herself as perhaps the area's top all-around player in just her sophomore year.

Patton, a 5-foot-7 guard, has the ability to play both guard positions and is also an aggressive rebounder. But her passing is what has earned her high praise this season.

``Amanda is a very smart player, and she knows that there are a lot of other girls on the team who can score,'' Munroe said. ``This year we have five or six girls who can score 10 points per game, as opposed to last year, when Amanda would have 22 or 23 and the next girl would only have eight or nine.''

Patton's scoring average has dipped by about three points per game, to its current 14.7. But the Indians hold a 13-4 record, impressive when compared to this same point last season, when they were struggling to reach .500.

Patton remains the focal point of the Hart offense, but she has succeeded in getting guards Campbell and Sarah McIntosh, and post players Briana Brigandi, Whitney Downen and Brandi Kimble into the offense.

When teams focus on Patton and try to shut her down, it opens up room for the Indians' other options, and Patton's ego doesn't seem to get bruised when her numbers are not spectacular.

``The neat thing about Amanda is that her scoring average is down, but it doesn't bother her at all,'' Munroe said. ``She'd much rather be scoring less and be 13-4 than be 6-11 or whatever we were at this point last year. She's a competitor, and she just wants to win.''

That point was driven home last Friday, when Hart faced a crucial Foothill League game against Valencia. Patton had been sent home from practice the day before with what was later diagnosed as a viral infection.

Patton played almost the entire game, and although she was visibly bothered and could not wear a mouthpiece because of breathing problems, she led the Indians on a strong second-half run, even though Hart lost 55-53.

Patton was also the subject of intense defense by Valencia's Holly Feneht, and attempted just two shots. She made one, and also all eight free-throw attempts, to finish with 10 points.

``She would have to have a broken leg not to play,'' Munroe said. ``I told her, `You have to let me know when you need a breather because I don't know how you feel.' But every time I asked her, she said, `Yeah, I'm ready to go.'

``By watching her, you could tell she wasn't on top of her game, but knowing how she felt, I thought she played awfully well.''

Patton developed a reputation quickly last year, when as a freshman she was an honorable-mention selection to the Daily News all-area team. By the end of last year, opposing teams began to focus on Patton, and the attention didn't bother her.

``I really just expected to be one of the players last year,'' Patton said. ``It was a little weird, because I was still getting used to the whole high school experience.

Patton made an impact early, and that type of aggressiveness sometimes gets her in trouble. In a recent game, Patton had two first-half fouls when Munroe put her back in during the final minute of the second quarter.

Almost immediately, Patton reached for the ball at midcourt, which almost resulted in her third foul and cardiac arrest for Munroe.

``That's just how she is,'' Munroe said. ``If she loses the ball or misses a shot, she wants to make up for it. I try to tell her that she's too valuable to us, and we can't have her picking up silly fouls.

``And she listens. She's very coachable, and it's nice when your best player is also your hardest-working player.''

PATTON FILE

Name: Amanda Patton

School: Hart

Sport: Girls' basketball

Position: Guard

Year: Sophomore

Comments: The 5-foot-7 Patton is one of the area's top point guards, but has also spent time at shooting guard this season. She is averaging 14.7 points and 4.7 assists per game and is shooting 38.4 percent from 3-point range. Patton says her goal is to eclipse Hart's single-game record of 11 assists.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Hart High sophomore point guard Amanda Patton (22) is comfortable either making the big shot or the big pass in the clutch.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer

Box: Patton File (see text)