Graduating senior Bre Dufault played about five minutes per game as a freshman. As a sophomore, she was still averaging less than 20. Yet, by her third season with the Jumbos, she was a starter and co-captain, and as a senior, she was the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Many players could never make this kind of a leap. But for Dufault, making the most out of her situation has helped her to define herself as one of the key cogs in perhaps the division’s best defense.
In her first season with the team, Dufault very much struggled with her identity. She was a guard, trying to transition into being a forward on an undersized team while simultaneously trying to learn the complexity of coach Carla Berube’s system.
“In high school, defense was one of my stronger suits, but as soon as I got here, it was just a different speed,” Dufault said. “I used to get steals, and I came into college, and suddenly I was four steps behind.”
“Bre was definitely a freshman,” graduate student co-captain Kate Barnosky added. “She came up as a guard and eventually she got pushed into the post which was a great load for her. She had to figure out coach’s system and expectations, and it was tough for her to adapt.”
By her sophomore year, Dufault’s increased understanding and development earned her playing time, and some injuries on a gravely undersized team even gave her the chance to start 12 games. While her offensive production was minimal, it was her defense that began to make her stand out, especially her work on opposing post players who towered over her.
“Once she learned what the program’s all about, she fit in perfectly,” Barnosky said. “She’s an awesome defender, and I think Coach found a good spot for her and she learned how she could contribute best.”
In her third season, Dufault was given captaincy of a team with just two seniors, two juniors and three freshmen getting heavy minutes. While she may not have been the most experienced player, she embraced the leadership role.
“She stepped up as a leader in her two years as captain,” Barnosky. “She was more so a leader by example, always leaving everything she had on the floor, and I think setting such a great example goes a long way.”
But nothing stuck out more about Dufault in her four years than her defense. In her second-to-last game as a Jumbo, she shut down first-team All-American Sarah Collins, who had four inches on her. The performance helped Tufts cruise into its second straight sweet 16 and defined how strong her defense had been all season, both in and out of the post, against guards and forwards.
“Why we’ve had such strong individual defenders is because you have your whole team there supporting you,” she said. “If one person is a really good defender, it’s not going to matter if she doesn’t think she has her help defense behind her.”
Her conference defensive award, the fifth straight consecutive won by a Jumbo, embodied everything she brought to the table in her four years in brown and blue.
“She’s super athletic, and has really great instincts and extremely long arms,” Barnosky said of Dufault’s defense. “But I think, more than anything, she’s a competitor, and she’s not going to let her girl score and do whatever it takes to get a stop. It’s awesome to have someone that can really guard anyone, from a guard to an All-American post player.”
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