After a blowout win Friday night to begin their California weekend swing, the Blue Devils were looking to continue the momentum in the last game of their Thanksgiving break trip.
Rebecca Greenwell made sure they did just that with a record-setting performance.
The redshirt junior’s career-high 31 points paced Duke in a 99-65 romp against Pepperdine Sunday afternoon at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. Five Blue Devils scored in double figures as Duke jumped out to an early 25-8 lead to start the game and never looked back, sharing the ball with a season-high 26 assists on their 37 field goals.
Greenwell was the main beneficiary, knocking down a program-record eight 3-pointers to set a new career high in points for the third time already this season.
“To have that kind of accuracy and that kind of balance on the floor is very hard to do,” Blue Devil head coach Joanne P. McCallie told GoDuke.com. “Having her teammates get [Greenwell] the ball, that’s key, in the right spot, but I’m not surprised at all. I’m very excited for her and proud of her.”
Duke (7-1) did a better job taking care of the ball Sunday, committing a season-low 10 turnovers after giving it away 19 times Friday in its win against Long Beach State. The Blue Devils’ offensive efficiency coupled with suffocating pressure defense that forced 24 turnovers made for a long night for the Waves (0-5), who got blown out despite making 11 3-pointers.
McCallie’s team set the tone by controlling the paint, with senior forward Kendall Cooper starting for the third straight game in place of junior Erin Mathias. The new-look starters raced out to an 11-0 lead three minutes into the first quarter and continued their recent dominance in the post, outscoring Pepperdine 42-10 inside.
Cooper and fellow senior forward anchor Oderah Chidom combined for 22 points and 12 rebounds in their return to their home state.
But the night belonged to Greenwell, who wasted little time taking dead aim from the perimeter. The second-team All-ACC guard knocked down two 3-pointers within the game’s first three minutes, and continued pouring it on to the tune of 14 first-half points.
The second half was more of the same, as the Owensboro, Ky., native nailed five more triples to make sure Pepperdine never threatened even though Wave guards Sydney Bardonaro and Allie Green combined for 40 points and 10 3-pointers of their own. Greenwell finished the night 11-of-20 from the field and 8-of-16 from long range.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted, to set that record,” Greenwell said. “I set that record in high school, I actually have the national record for most [3-pointers] in a game in high school, so I’ve always wanted to set the Duke record. It feels great and hopefully I can beat it again sometime.”
With Greenwell feeling it, junior point guard Lexie Brown focused on creating for her fellow backcourt mate, posting a career-high 12 assists to go along with her 14 points for the first double-double of her career. Sophomore guard Kyra Lambert also added six assists and has registered 26 in the last four games.
With the Blue Devils in control at halftime, some of the team’s reserves got extra playing time and took full advantage of it. Freshman forward Leaonna Odom benefitted greatly, scoring a career-high 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds to also record the first double-double of her young Duke career.
“I’m not surprised,” McCallie said. “She’s a special player. We demand a lot from her, defensively as well as offensively, and she certainly had a great game.”
All three California natives on the Blue Devil roster—Chidom, Cooper and Odom—finished in double figures Sunday as they relished the opportunity to return home and see family during the holiday week.
Duke spent time with Cooper’s family and did some sightseeing during its few days in Long Beach and Malibu for Thanksgiving.
“Just seeing my uncle, who never has watched me play, come to one of my games... He came three hours so I just wanted to play well,” Odom said. “I just didn’t want to disappoint.”
The Blue Devils will hit the road for their next game, traveling to New Jersey to take on Rutgers as part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge Thursday. Duke fell in its first true road game against a Power-5 conference opponent at Vanderbilt Nov. 20.
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