USU’s Dufficy named MW Player of the Week

Utah State junior guard/forward Shannon Dufficy was named the Mountain West Conference women’s basketball player of the week, the league office announced Monday morning.

Dufficy led the Aggies to a 2-0 record last week to begin conference play, including a 79-76 2OT win over Nevada and a 48-44 road victory at Air Force.

In USU’s conference opener against Nevada, the Preston, Australia native went for 20 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high six blocks, leading the Aggies in each respective category. She also hit a clutch three-pointer at the end of the OT period, while playing 46 of a possible 50 minutes in the game.

Versus Air Force, Dufficy scored a career-high 24 points, accounting for half of the team’s total 48 points. She also logged a team-high 13 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.

On the season, Dufficy is averaging a conference-best 9.5 rebounds per game, along with 15.4 points per game, the fourth-highest mark of any player in the MWC. She also ranks 22nd in the nation in double-doubles with seven.

This marks the second time this season that a USU women’s basketball player has earned player of the week honors this season. Junior forward Hailey Bassett-Meacham was named player of the week following her performance the week of Nov. 12.

Dufficy was also named the America First Credit Union USU Student Athlete of the Week, an award which is voted on by the local media to honor the top performances by USU athletes. This was her third time earning the honor that season.

With the week’s two wins, Utah State has now won five of their past six games, and with a 7-6 record the Aggies have already matched last season’s win total.

Utah State will next face Fresno State (9-4, 2-0) in Fresno, Calif. on Wednesday night. The game can be heard streaming on aggieradio.com.

– jadencrockettjohnson@gmail.com

Twitter: @jadenjohnson00