Sam McDuffie and Irene Hudson Earn GBC November Athlete of the Month Honors
PIKE CREEK, Del. – Senior Sam McDuffie of the men’s basketball team and sophomore Irene Hudson of the women’s basketball team have been named Goldey-Beacom College male and female athletes of the month for the month of November.
Both of these athletes put up impressive numbers and cracked into the school’s all-time record books with their performances this past month. McDuffie earned Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference honorable mention on Nov. 15 after a remarkable 34-point performance in the season-opener against Franklin Pierce, and he became the fifth Lightning player to reach 1,000 points for his career on Nov. 20 against Cheyney. Hudson averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per-game and recorded a career-high 23 to lead the Lightning to their first victory of the season at West Florida on Nov. 27.
McDuffie, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., had an electrifying November as he tried to energize a struggling Lightning team in the first five games of the season. He averaged 20.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per-game in a 1-4 month for GBC. Along the way, he scored a career-high 34 points in an overtime loss in the season-opener against Franklin Pierce, registered five assists and three steals to go with 17 points in a win against Shippensburg, and collected 25 points, six rebounds and four assists in a narrow loss to Cheyney.
Just 45 points away from tying Kyle White (2008-10) for fourth place on the school’s all-time scoring list, McDuffie proved from day one this season that he is capable of carrying the team’s scoring load after the departure of its leading scorer the previous two seasons, White. In his 34-point breakout game against Franklin Pierce, he shot 12-of-17 from the field (2-of-3 from three-point range) and made 8-of-12 from the foul line.
He could not be stopped in the second half, making 10-of-11 shots from the field including one three-point field goal. He scored 25 of the Lightning’s 44 second-half points as Franklin Pierce had no answer for McDuffie’s dribble-drive to the basket.
During that game, McDuffie surpassed Adrian Miles (’09) for second place on the school’s all-time leading rebounder’s list as his six rebounds gave him 404 for his career.
An accounting major, McDuffie came to GBC from Bordentown High School in Bordentown, N.J. There he led the team to a Central Jersey Championship and scored 1300 points in his career.
Hudson, a Syracuse, N.Y. native, was second on the team in scoring at 11.8 ppg and third in rebounding with 6.0 rpg in the month of November. She scored in double-figures in three of the team’s five games, including a career-high 23 points and nine rebounds in the team’s first victory of the season on Nov. 27 against West Florida. She also contributed four steals, two blocks and one assist in a 1-4 month for GBC.
As a sophomore, Hudson has already earned a reputation as being among the best reserve players in the league and one of the toughest post-players to defend. With her tremendous footwork and strength, Hudson has become a force for the Lightning inside, an area the team is already loaded with talent with forwards Arielle Alford, Devonne Richardson and Akilah Sewell.
A business administration major out of Corcoran High School, Hudson has 298 points and 210 rebounds in her young career to-date.
Previous Winners:
October 2010: Stewart Reich, Kelly Williams
September 2010: Ricky Jackson, Laura Cure
April 2010: Michael Coppa, Cailin Cavanaugh
March 2010: Devon Ripley, Lauren Witzke
February 2010: Sam McDuffie, Devonne Richardson
January 2010: Terrence Parkes, Janae Weldon
December 2009: Kyle White, Jacinda Jones
November 2009: Ben Kinley, Elizabeth Williams
October 2009: Chris Steele, Vanessa leon Velasquez
September 2009: Angel Rodriguez, Luciana Pereira