Senior All-America guard Megan Duffy had a strong all-around night with 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals in Thursday night's 96-45 exhibition win over Ferris State at the Joyce Center.

Megan Duffy Named 2005-06 Preseason Wooden Women's Award Candidate

Aug. 12, 2005

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame senior point guard Megan Duffy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne HS) is one of 30 players who have been named preseason candidates for the 2005-06 John R. Wooden Women’s Award presented by Applied Materials, it was announced Thursday evening. This marks Duffy’s first appearance on the Wooden Women’s Award preseason watch list and the third consecutive year that an Irish women’s basketball player has received the preseason accolade (All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast was a two-time honoree in 2003-04 and 2004-05).

Duffy currently is serving as a co-captain on the USA World University Games Team, which is competing in Izmir, Turkey. She has started both games for the United States thus far, tallying a team-high 14 points in Team USA’s 88-64 preliminary round win over the Czech Republic on Wednesday and adding two assists in a 92-22 romp over South Africa on Thursday.

The Wooden Women’s Award is given annually to the nation’s top women’s college basketball player and the top 30 preseason candidates for this season’s honor were chosen by a vote of the Wooden Award National Advisory Board. The list is composed of 30 student athletes who, based on last year’s individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for one of college basketball’s most coveted trophies. These top 30 candidates are comprised of returning players, although transfers, freshmen and other players who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for inclusion as the year progresses.

Duffy was an Associated Press honorable mention All-America and Kodak/WBCA All-Region 1 choice last season and is a top candidate for the 2006 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (top senior player in the nation under 5-foot-8). She will be arguably the top returning point guard in the BIG EAST Conference next season after becoming only the second Irish floor general ever to receive All-America status. Also a first-team all-BIG EAST choice in 2004-05, Duffy ranked second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg.) and led the conference in both steals (2.73 spg.) and free throw percentage (.895), placing fourth in the country with a school-record mark in the latter category. In addition, she was second in the BIG EAST in assists (5.39 apg.), trailing only West Virginia’s Yolanda Paige (a 2005 second-round WNBA draft pick by the Indiana Fever), and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.73), and earned a spot on the Preseason WNIT and BIG EAST Championship all-tournament teams. Her 90 steals were the fifth-most in school history (second among Irish juniors) and her 1,222 minutes played were second in school annals, just five minutes short of Beth Morgan’s record of 1,227 in 1996-97. Duffy did set a new school standard by averaging 37.0 minutes per game, smashing Mary Gavin’s old mark of 35.1 in 1986-87.

The lone returning captain on the Notre Dame roster for 2005-06, Duffy was at her best during the ’05 postseason, averaging 19.5 points, 4.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game with a .579 field goal percentage and .611 three-point percentage in four games. She helped lead Notre Dame to a 27-6 record in 2004-05, tying its third-highest win total ever, as well as the 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history (10th in a row) and the program’s 12th consecutive 20-win season. The Irish advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Arizona State, 70-61. Still, Notre Dame was ranked 11th in the final Associated Press poll of the season and 15th in the year-end ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

Duffy is one of six BIG EAST players who are on the 2005-06 Wooden Women’s Award preseason candidate list. The others include: Jazz Covington (Louisville), Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers), Khara Smith (DePaul), Ann Strother (Connecticut) and Barbara Turner (Connecticut). Only the Atlantic Coast Conference had more players (seven) on the list than the BIG EAST.

In mid-January, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 20 List, followed in March by the official voting ballot, consisting of approximately 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The 2006 Wooden Award ceremony will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 8, 2006, and will be broadcast live on a national CBS telecast. Batteast appeared on the official voting ballot last year.

— ND —

2005-06 John R. Wooden Women’s Award Preseason Candidate List
Seimone Augustus, LSU
Nikki Blue, UCLA
Lindsay Bowen, Michigan State
Jazz Covington, Louisville
Monique Currie, Duke
Jessica Davenport, Ohio State
Shay Doron, Maryland
Megan Duffy, Notre Dame
Candice Dupree, Temple
Emily Faurholt, Idaho
Sylvia Fowles, LSU
Katie Gearlds, Purdue
Erin Grant, Texas Tech
Tasha Humphrey, Georgia
Tiffany Jackson, Texas
Tamara James, Miami (Fla.)
Crystal Langhorne, Maryland
Erlana Larkins, North Carolina
Ivory Latta, North Carolina
Shawntinice Polk, Arizona
Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers
Armintie Price, Mississippi
Noelle Quinn, UCLA
Khara Smith, DePaul
Kim Smith, Utah
Ann Strother, Connecticut
Barbara Turner, Connecticut
Candice Wiggins, Stanford
Mistie Williams, Duke
Sophia Young, Baylor