Feb. 28, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame senior guard Megan Duffy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) became the second Irish women’s basketball player ever to be named a first-team Academic All-American when she was tapped for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Women’s Basketball University Division First Team, it was announced Tuesday. Duffy joins Ruth Riley as the program’s two first-team selections — Riley was a two-time pick in 2000 and 2001, garnering Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year status the latter season. Three other Notre Dame female cagers have earned second-team Academic All-America® status — Maggie Lally (1980, 1981), Shari Matvey (1981) and Mary Beth Schueth (1983). In addition, Duffy is the eighth women’s basketball player in BIG EAST Conference history to be accorded first-team Academic All-America® distinction (first since Riley in 2001).
Also a two-time Academic All-District V choice (2004, 2005), Duffy currently holds a 3.555 cumulative grade-point average in the College of Arts and Letters, where she is pursuing a double major in psychology and computer applications. She has earned Dean’s List honors in each of the past four semesters, including a 3.917 GPA in the spring 2005 term and a 3.821 GPA in the recently-completed fall 2005 semester.
Duffy is the fifth Notre Dame student-athlete to earn Academic All-America® honors in 2005-06. The others include: Erika Bohn (women’s soccer – first team), Annie Schefter (women’s soccer – first team), John Stephens (men’s soccer – second team) and Lauren Brewster (volleyball – second team). All told, 163 Irish student-athletes have been named Academic All-Americans, the second-highest total in the nation.
On the court, Duffy ranks among the top 10 in the BIG EAST in scoring (8th – 15.7 ppg.), assists (8th – 4.19 apg.), steals (7th – 2.00 spg.), free throw percentage (1st – .894), three-pointers made per game (6th – 1.96) and assist/turnover ratio (10th – 1.73). She also is 11th in the nation in free throw percentage (as of Feb. 21), marking the second consecutive year she is among the top 15 nationally in that category, and her .894 mark is just shy of her own single-season school record (.895) that she set in 2004-05. In addition, Duffy has scored in double figures 22 times in 26 games this season, including each of the past 11 games, the longest string by a Notre Dame player in four seasons.
A consensus preseason All-America selection this season, Duffy is a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week (Jan. 23 and Feb. 27) and a three-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll choice. She also is a prime candidate for the Nancy Lieberman Award (top point guard in the nation), Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (top senior player in the nation 5-foot-8 and under), and three national player-of-the-year awards — the State Farm/WBCA Wade Trophy, Naismith Trophy and John R. Wooden Women’s Award.
Already a two-time all-BIG EAST pick, Duffy ranks among the top 10 in school history in 11 career categories, most notably free throw percentage (2nd – .860), where she is tied for 14th in NCAA history. She also is 14th in the Irish record books with 1,228 career points, and has started 90 of the past 91 Notre Dame games, including a current streak of 63 in a row, dating back to the start of the 2003-04 season.
Joining Duffy on this year’s Academic All-America® University Division Women’s Basketball First Team are Melanie Boeglin (Indiana State), Lindsay Shearer (Kent State), Liz Shimek (Michigan State) and Shanna Zolman (Tennessee). Connecticut’s Ann Strother was the other BIG EAST honoree, garnering third-team Academic All-America® accolades. Shearer was named the Academic All-America® University Division Women’s Basketball Team Member of the Year.
The Academic All-America® program, which began in 1952, now honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Duffy and senior co-captain Courtney LaVere (Ventura, Calif./Buena) will play the final home game of their Notre Dame careers Tuesday at 7 p.m. (ET) when the Irish (16-10, 7-8 BIG EAST) play host to Pittsburgh (18-8, 9-6) at the Joyce Center. Tickets remain available for the contest through the Notre Dame Athletics Ticket Office (574-631-7356), on game night at the Joyce Center Gate 10 ticket windows and via the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com). Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the Irish will hold a special pre-game ceremony 20 minutes prior to tipoff honoring their seniors — Duffy, LaVere, managers Meghan Callahan and Luke Hoover, and video assistant Janelle Tretter.
— ND —