Northwestern point guard Ashley Deary named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year

Northwestern junior point guard Ashley Deary was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year by coaches on Monday. Deary was also named to the All-Big Ten Defensive team by coaches.

Ashley Deary of @nuwbball named 2016 #B1GWBBall Defensive Player of the Year by coaches. pic.twitter.com/LXCNwr3K05

— B1G Women's Hoops (@B1Gwbball) February 29, 2016

Deary had a staggering 128 steals over the course of the season and set the Big Ten single-season steals record in the process. Northwestern's starting point guard averaged 4.2 steals per game and had twice as many steals as her next-closest competitor.

Deary was also named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the media.

Elsewhere for the Wildcats, junior forward Nia Coffey was named to the All-Big Ten First Team for the third straight season by both coaches and media. Senior forward Maggie Lyon was named honorable mention by both media and coaches.

Here is a full list of the coaches' selections: