Aug. 19, 2005
IZMIR, Turkey – Notre Dame senior point guard Megan Duffy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne HS) and her United States teammates won the gold medal at the 2005 World University Games, defeating Serbia & Montenegro, 79-53 in the title game on Friday in Izmir, Turkey. It was the Americans’ seventh victory in as many games at the tournament and improves their all-time record at the World University Games to 82-15 (.845), with 13 medals in 14 appearances (six gold, six silver, one bronze). The World University Games gold medal contest will be televised on a tape-delayed basis Sunday (Aug. 21) at 8 p.m. EST/CDT by Fox College Sports Pacific (Channels 264 and 415 on Comcast Digital cable systems in South Bend).
Duffy, a candidate for the Wade Trophy, Wooden Women’s Award and Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award during the upcoming 2005-06 season, is the third Notre Dame women’s basketball player to capture a gold medal in international competition, and the second in as many years. Last summer, former Irish All-American and 2001 consensus national player of the year Ruth Riley was a member of the U.S. Senior National Team that struck gold at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. In addition, Beth Morgan, Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer and a two-time All-American, earned a gold medal in 1997 with the USA World University Games Team — ironically, one of her teammates on the squad was current Irish assistant coach Angie Potthoff (a ’97 graduate of Penn State). All told, Notre Dame women’s basketball players now have garnered eight medals in international competition (three gold, three silver, two bronze).
Duffy, who was voted a co-captain by her American teammates prior to the tournament, started all seven games for the United States, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in the final against Serbia & Montenegro. The Notre Dame veteran also was assigned the task of guarding her opposite number in Serbian point guard Marija Eric, who came into the title game averaging 7.0 points (.519 field goal percentage), 5.2 assists and 4.2 steals per game, ranking among the top three at the tournament in the latter two categories. Duffy’s defense was outstanding in the gold medal contest, as she limited Eric to three points (1-of-3 shooting) and two assists while hounding her into 10 turnovers.
For the tournament, Duffy averaged 6.1 points and 2.1 assists per game, leading the team in scoring on two occasions (14 points vs. Czech Republic; 13 points vs. Poland). Her .400 three-point percentage (8-of-20) also not only earned her a share of team-high honors, but tied for eighth among all players in the 20-team tournament. In addition, she was at the helm of an offense that averaged 97.4 points per game and broke the 100-point mark three times. Team USA won every game by at least 24 points, registered four 50-point victories and finished with a new U.S. World University Games-record 43.1 ppg. winning margin. The old mark of +41.9 ppg. had been set in 1991 by a squad that featured future Olympians Dawn Staley and Lisa Leslie.
Against Serbia & Montenegro, Seimone Augustus (LSU) led all scorers with 18 points for the United States, while Lisa Willis (UCLA) added 13 points and Sylvia Fowles (LSU) chipped in with 12 points. Team USA forced 29 turnovers in the title game, with 22 coming on steals (Augustus had a game-high eight thefts). The Americans started slowly, leading 15-8 after one quarter. However, the U.S. got its offense rolling in the second period, taking a 43-28 lead by halftime and never letting Serbia & Montenegro back within single digits the rest of the way.
— ND —
2005 USA World University Games Team Results (Izmir, Turkey)
Aug. 10 Czech Republic W, 88-64 (Pool B play)
Aug. 11 South Africa W, 92-22 (Pool B play)
Aug. 12 China W, 107-54 (Pool B play)
Aug. 15 Poland W, 89-63 (Pool B play)
Aug. 16 Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) W, 109-57 (Quarterfinals)
Aug. 17 Russia W, 118-67 (Semifinals)
Aug. 19 Serbia & Montenegro W, 79-53 (Final)*
* — will be televised Aug. 21 (8 p.m. EST/CDT) on Fox College Sports Pacific (Comcast Digital Channels 264 and 415 in South Bend)