With star Azurá Stevens listed as day-to-day with a torn plantar fascia in her left foot, the burden will fall on the rest of the team's leaders to chip in to fill Stevens’ big shoes.
Redshirt sophomore Rebecca Greenwell gave Duke a much-needed lift Thursday against Virginia, scoring 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in a 67-52 victory. But against No. 16 Miami Sunday, the Blue Devils will need a repeat performance from Greenwell—and then some—to get a resume-building victory.
With Stevens’ availability in question, Duke will travel to the BankUnited Center to take on the No. 16 Hurricanes Sunday at 1 p.m. in Coral Gables, Fla. Playing their third game in a seven-day span, the Blue Devils will need their role players to shine behind Greenwell, especially Angela Salvadores, who thrust herself into the spotlight with a strong game against Virginia.
“[Salvadores and I] have really great chemistry and really enjoy playing together. I think it comes naturally, but also during practice we’re constantly looking for each other,” Greenwell said. "We know each other’s game and we know where the other is on the floor at all times.”
With Stevens sitting on the sidelines against the Cavaliers, Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie switched the defense from a 3-2 zone to a 2-3 zone with one defender—primarily point guard Kyra Lambert—pressuring the opposing ball-handler at three-quarters court. The Blue Devils may change up their defense once again though, in order to limit the penetration of Miami's star guard, Adrienne Motley.
Motley’s ball-handling skills and shot selection could prove a giant problem for Duke (17-7, 6-4 in the ACC) if it remains in the 2-3 zone because Motley’s sweet-spot falls in the area right inside the 3-point line extending to the foul line. With stiff man-to-man defense with Lambert pressuring the ball, McCallie's squad could limit the junior guard—who averages 16.3 points per game—and force other Hurricanes to hurt them.
Despite only scoring two points against the Cavaliers, Lambert left her mark on the game by hounding Virginia star Mikayla Venson and holding her to 8-of-20 shooting from the field. The combination of Lambert and classmate Crystal Primm at the top of the zone forced 12 Cavalier turnovers that turned into 16 Duke points.
“We’ve been playing a quite a few defenses, a lot of man-to-man against Virginia and against Notre Dame. Crystal Primm and Kyra Lambert have sort of been the stars of man-to-man defense,” McCallie said. “They both have great footwork and they’re both very aggressive, and they have super quickness and athleticism. You have that terrific combination and that’s why we recruited them.”
Without the team’s de facto offensive threat, McCallie switched her rotation to be more guard-oriented, with Lambert, Primm, Salvadores and Greenwell all on the court at the same time. Greenwell’s 42.1 percent clip from behind the arc stretches the floor and opens up driving lanes for Salvadores.
After struggling in her first two games back on the floor following an ankle injury, Salvadores broke through against the Cavaliers, registering 17 points and six rebounds. The Leon, Spain, native brings plenty of play-making ability off the bench for McCallie’s squad, which could prove crucially important if Stevens is unable to play Sunday.
A win at Miami (19-4, 7-3) would be Duke's first victory against a ranked opponent this season, and would bring with it major implications for the ACC standings. Syracuse and N.C. State currently sit tied with the Hurricanes for fourth place, and a Blue Devil win would pull Duke into a tie with Miami, leaving McCallie's squad only a half-game out of fourth place. After a slow 1-3 start to conference play, Duke has seemingly found its stride, losing just one of its last six games—a tightly contested 68-61 loss to No. 3 Notre Dame.
But even in the best-case scenario—Stevens playing limited minutes—Duke will be tested on the road as it looks to move up in the ACC standings. Besides Motley, six other Hurricanes average at least six points per game, meaning the Blue Devils will have to be active defensively all over the floor. But with Greenwell hitting shots efficiently like she did against the Cavaliers, Duke can take the next step toward climbing back into the top 25 with an important road win.
“I think we’ve definitely come a whole long way and we’re doing things a whole lot differently than we did earlier, especially in the ACC conference,” Greenwell said. “We all have the same mindset and we know that if we play our game, we can win any game in the ACC.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.