Ciara Duffy Named 2020 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year
Senior guard the inaugural recipient of Becky Hammon Award
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HOPEWELL, N.J. (March 31, 2020) — Her Hoop Stats is proud to announce that South Dakota senior guard Ciara Duffy has been selected as the inaugural Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year. The Becky Hammon Award presented by Her Hoop Stats recognizes the nation’s best mid-major player.
Graphic Courtesy of Morgan Reeder, Her Hoop Stats
Duffy led South Dakota to its most successful season in program history with her efficient scoring and smart passing. Duffy averaged 16.9 points against Division I opponents this season, and her 1.21 points per scoring attempt are in the top four percent of the nation. As a facilitator, Duffy averaged 5.0 assists and just 2.5 turnovers per game. That 2.00 assist to turnover ratio is 75th in the nation.
Duffy and South Dakota played a difficult non-conference slate, going 10-2 with wins over Drake, Ohio State, Green Bay, and Creighton. The team debuted in the AP Top 25 at No. 25 on Dec. 16.
The Coyotes won the final 19 games of the season—all conference games—winning those games by an average of 31.6 points per game. Their 19-game winning streak in conference games is tied for the third-longest active streak in Division I. Behind Duffy’s leadership, the team finished No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 17 in the AP Poll. South Dakota spent the last 11 weeks of the season ranked in the AP Top 25, surpassing the program record of two weeks set last season.
Duffy finished her Coyote career with 1,793 career points and 648 rebounds. This season, Duffy set career highs in points, rebounds, assists, double-doubles, and steals while also committing only 42 personal fouls, a career-low.
Duffy received honorable mention AP All-American honors this season, making her the first Coyote to receive All-American recognition since South Dakota moved to Division I in 2008. Off the court, Duffy is a three-time Academic All-American. Per South Dakota athletic communications, Duffy finished her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude and is currently pursuing a master’s degree. Duffy hails from Rapid City, S.D., the same hometown as Becky Hammon.
Award Eligibility
To be eligible for the award, players must compete in one of the 25 conferences deemed to be “mid-major.” The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award, and thus ineligible: AAC, ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC. Players are selected based on their on-court production in the 2019-20 NCAA season.
About Becky Hammon
Hammon was a three-time All-American during her career at Colorado State and led the Rams to the Sweet 16 in 1999, the program’s only appearance to this day. She was signed by the New York Liberty in 1999 and was traded to the San Antonio Stars in 2007, where she played the rest of her career.
Hammon retired in 2014 as a six-time All-Star and a two-time All-WNBA First Team honoree. In 2016 she was named one of the top 20 players in WNBA history. Hammon became the second female coach in NBA history when she began coaching for the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. Additionally, Hammon is the only woman to be a head coach in the NBA Summer League as well as the only woman to be a member of an NBA All-Star coaching staff.
About Her Hoop Stats
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content through our newsletter, podcast, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
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