Azurá Stevens
Statline:
Tuesday vs. Western Carolina: 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks
Thursday vs. UNC Wilmington: 11 points, four rebounds, one block and one steal
Sunday vs. Syracuse: 12 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and one block
The good: Stevens led the Blue Devils in both scoring and rebounding against Western Carolina and Syracuse, posting double-doubles in both games, and the sophomore forward is beginning to score at a very efficient clip in the post. She shot 9-of-13 from the field against the Catamounts and 6-of-10 against the Orange to raise her shooting percentage to around 55 percent this season.
Stevens is growing more comfortable playing in the post and is also passing well to find open teammates when she is trapped by bigs in the paint. After totaling just 18 helpers in Duke’s first 12 games, the Cary, N.C., native tallied three assists twice this week, a sign of progress that may discourage defenses from collapsing near the basket and give her more chances to score in one-on-one situations in the future.
The bad: Although the assist numbers are up, Stevens and the Blue Devils also struggled with turnovers all week, as she had four turnovers in all three games and contributed to Duke’s eye-popping 32-turnover performance in Sunday’s blowout loss at Syracuse. Stevens has the second-most giveaways on the team this year with 39, and she failed to force many turnovers on the defensive end with just one steal all week.
The 6-foot-6 forward was virtually invisible on the glass Thursday afternoon as an undersized Seahawks squad outrebounded the Blue Devils 39-35. It was just the third time Duke has lost the rebounding battle this year, and Stevens’ four boards matched her lowest output of the season.
The bottom line: This was the Blue Devils’ worst week of the season as a team and it certainly did not feature some of Stevens’ best play, but she was the best player on the floor for Duke in two of its three games and was the only bright spot in the 86-50 loss to the Orange. She continues to be the team’s focal point on offense and defense, but it was evident Sunday afternoon that she will need a lot more help if the Blue Devils expect to finish near the top of the ACC.
Honorable mention: When Stevens had an off game against UNC Wilmington, Rebecca Greenwell picked up the slack and led the team with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting and nine rebounds. The redshirt sophomore also tallied 13 points Tuesday night and drained nine triples during the week’s three games combined, but Greenwell never found a rhythm offensively against Syracuse. The Owensboro, Ky., native shot just 3-of-12 from the field Sunday and has failed to reach double-figures in scoring in three of Duke’s four losses. Much like the rest of her teammates, Greenwell struggled to break the Orange’s press all afternoon and was held without an assist while committing three turnovers.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.