Feb. 17, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame senior guard Megan Duffy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne HS) is one of 30 players who have been designated as mid-season candidates for the Naismith Trophy, it was announced Friday by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top women’s college basketball player, with the top 30 mid-season candidates chosen from a preseason group of 50 based upon player performance during the season. The selections were made by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, which is comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. Next month, the Board will determine the four Naismith Trophy finalists that will appear on the award’s ballot — former Notre Dame great Ruth Riley won the honor in 2001.
Friday’s announcement marks the second time in a week Duffy has been mentioned for a major national honor. On Feb. 10, she was tapped as one of 11 nominees for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is given to the nation’s top point guard. In addition, Duffy is expected to be a prime candidate for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, which is presented annually at the NCAA Women’s Final Four by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to the nation’s top senior player standing 5-foot-8 or under. Renowned former Irish point guard Niele Ivey was the 2001 winner of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award.
Duffy ranks among the top 10 in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring (9th – 15.5 ppg.), assists (6th – 4.26 apg.), steals (8th – 2.04 spg.), free throw percentage (1st – .910), three-pointers made per game (7th – 1.91) and assist/turnover ratio (8th – 1.81). She also is eighth in the nation in free throw percentage (as of Feb. 14), marking the second consecutive year she is among the top 10 nationally in that category, and her .910 mark is on pace to break her own single-season school record (.895) that she set in 2004-05. In addition, Duffy has scored in double figures 19 times in 23 games this season, including six 20-point games and a career-high 32 points in an overtime win vs. Marquette on Jan. 10.
A consensus preseason All-America selection this season, Duffy was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 23, has been tapped for the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll three times, and earned a spot on the Duel in the Desert All-Tournament Team back in December. She ranks among the top 10 in school history in 11 different categories, most notably free throw percentage (2nd – .862), where she currently ranks 14th in NCAA history. She also is 17th in the Irish record books with 1,178 career points, and has started 87 of the past 88 Notre Dame games, including a current streak of 60 in a row, dating back to the start of the 2003-04 season.
Duffy is one of seven BIG EAST players on this year’s Naismith Trophy mid-season candidate list, joining Jessica Dickson (South Florida), Charde Houston (Connecticut), Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers), Khara Smith (DePaul), Ann Strother (Connecticut) and Barbara Turner (Connecticut). The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) was the only other league to have seven candidates on the Naismith mid-season list.
Notre Dame (14-9, 5-7 BIG EAST) returns to the hardwood Sunday at 7 p.m. (ET) when it plays host to No. 8/6 Connecticut at the Joyce Center. Tickets are still available (purchases can be made on-line at www.und.com, or at the Joyce Center Gate 10 ticket windows after 3 p.m. ET on game day), and the game also will be televised nationwide on ESPN2.
— ND —