Rebecca Greenwell
Friday vs. Syracuse: 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting, 3-of-6 from 3-point range, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals
Sunday vs. Pittsburgh: 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting, six rebounds and two steals
The good: Greenwell anchored the Blue Devils on both ends of the court to help Duke earn its fifth victory against a ranked team this season in a 72-55 win against the Orange Friday. The Owensboro, Ky., native led Duke with 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to record her third double-double of the season. Her presence on the boards helped Duke own the defensive glass against both the Orange and the Panthers, combining for a 69-50 edge in the two contests, and she also made an impact on defense, recording five steals.
With starting guard Lexie Brown having a low usage day against the Orange, taking just seven shots from the field, Greenwell shouldered the load of the offense for Duke, making six of her 14 shots from the field. Using strong drives to the basket, Greenwell contributed to Duke’s 44-8 edge in points in the paint while also excelling from the perimeter, making three of her six shots from beyond the arc.
Greenwell also helped distribute to the post, finding forward Oderah Chidom open several times against Syracuse and helping the Oakland, Calif., native reach the double-digit scoring plateau for the first time since Jan. 5 with 16 points.
The bad: Although Greenwell facilitated Duke’s offense against the Orange, she had an inefficient outing against the Panthers, shooting just 27.2 percent from the field, including a 2-for-7 mark from beyond the arc. Like many other Blue Devils, Greenwell also struggled to maintain possession of the basketball, recording seven turnovers in the two games.
Greenwell did provide an eight-point burst in an 11-4 run at the start of the third quarter to help Duke pull away from the Panthers, but she scored just three points the rest of the contest. Her uneven play also carried over to her distribution, logging just one assist in the contest.
The bottom line: Despite a sluggish start to conference play, shooting just 33.3 percent from the field in her first nine ACC games, Greenwell has reemerged as a lethal second scoring option behind Wooden Award candidate Brown. In her last four games, Greenwell has averaged nearly 18 points per contest, helping facilitate a hot Blue Devil offense that has helped carry the team to five consecutive victories.
An on-track Greenwell gives Duke a much more dynamic offense and one of the best backcourts in the nation going forward. With just three regular-season contests remaining, the Blue Devils need Greenwell to continue her momentum if they want to make waves in March.
Honorable mention: With Greenwell playing inefficiently against the Panthers, Brown picked up her slack with a strong offensive performance, notching a team-high 18 points and shooting a cool 6-of-12 from the field. In addition to creating offense with her shot, Brown also faciliated Duke’s offense with strong passing, combining for 12 assists in the two contests.
Brown stretched both defenses on the perimeter, connecting on four of her 11 3-point attempts in the two contests. Like Greenwell, Brown crashed the boards well, combining for 15 defensive rebounds.
But the Suwanee, Ga., native was plagued by turnovers, coughing the ball up seven times against Syracuse, something the Blue Devils will have to correct going forward—Duke turned the ball over 20 times versus the Orange.
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.