Dufficy’s career year powering Aggies’ resurgence
The Utah State women’s basketball team is a different team this year. Last season, the Aggies went 7-23 en route to a ninth-place finish (out of 11) in the Mountain West. As of Sunday, USU is tied with New Mexico for second in the conference with a 5-1 record in MW play and a 10-7 mark overall.
Integral to this improvement is the current form of junior forward Shannon Dufficy. The Australian native is currently averaging career-bests in points (16.2) field goal percentage (48.4), rebounds (10.3), steals (1.9) and blocks (1.0).
Dufficy’s 175 rebounds leads all Mountain West players and her 276 points is second only to Fresno State’s Candice White. Dufficy is the only MW player currently averaging a double-double on the season.
In conference play — six games thus far — Dufficy likewise leads the conference in rebounds (12.8) and is second in points (20.0), field goal percentage (57.5) and blocks (2.2).
This run of superb play has already netted the junior her first career selection as Mountain West Player of the Week. Dufficy was selected on Jan. 7 after averaging 22.0 points and 13.0 rebounds in two games against Nevada and Air Force. She is also crafting a decent case for MW Player of the Year. Preseason selection Riley Lupfer, Boise State’s star guard, has averaged just 12.6 points this season (14.0 in conference).
Part of what makes Dufficy’s improvement so perplexing is that she saw across-the-board decreases in her production from her freshman to sophomore season. They were all small drops, like her points average going from 8.2 to 7.9 and rebounds from 8.7 to 8.2. But in light of this season’s jump, it’s odd her growth can’t be tracked through her early career.
However, Dufficy provided a reason for her superb run of play.
“It’s just a confidence thing,” she said. “I have confidence from my coaches, my teammates, confidence more in myself now because I get in the gym more, my teammates are getting me open. It’s just a combination of all of those.”
USU forward Shannon Dufficy attempts a free throw in the Aggies’ exhibition against Westminster. She had 16 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes in USU’s 77-56 win.
Jerry Finkbeiner, the women’s basketball head coach, brought up the experience and responsibility the true junior gained after 58 starts for the Aggies in two seasons.
“She’s a year older, she’s accepted some responsibilities,” the seventh-year coach said. “She’s gained some confidence through accepting those responsibilities.”
That confidence has given way to consistency, something Finkbeiner mentioned he’d like to see more of from his other players. And the 6-foot-1 forward is producing that in spades. It’s perhaps another thing Dufficy has acquired this season.
Dufficy has actually shown this All-Conference form in previous seasons. Her career-high in rebounds (19) came against Southern Utah in 2017. Her career high in points and blocks prior to this season happened in her freshman year.
As a sophomore last year, Dufficy had 11 games where she scored in double figures and four games with 16-plus points. On the other hand, she had another 11 games with five or fewer points — five with under three points (excluding her game against UNLV where she left with an injury after two minutes played).
That trend of up-and-down play hasn’t shown its face as much this season for Dufficy. Only twice this season has she failed to score in double figures. The junior is also in the midst of seven straight games with a double-double — the longest such streak in Aggie history.
Having improved play from her teammates, specifically 3-point shooting, has also opened things up, literally, for Dufficy. From last season to this season, the Aggies have gone from making 26.8 percent of its deep shots — 324th in the NCAA last year (of 349) — to 33.1 percent. It’s nothing to write home about, ranking 104th in the NCAA and fourth in the Mountain West, but it’s a drastic improvement.
“That has really helped a lot,” Dufficy said of her teammates’ shooting. “It’s helped me a lot to get my open shots.”
Moving forward, Dufficy will have to face a challenge she isn’t used to: being the focus of opposing defensive gameplans. But her coach has confidence that she’ll be able to handle it.
“I really think that she’s good enough to accept that challenge,” Finkbeiner said.