Lexie Brown
- Year: Redshirt Senior
- Height: 5-foot-9
- Position: Guard
- Statline: 18.3 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.7 RPG
Game Breakdown: Lexie Brown was worth the wait. After sitting out the 2015-16 season with Duke – a tumultuous year loaded with drama – Brown stepped in and immediately righted the ship, leading the Blue Devils to a 17-1 record at Cameron Indoor Stadium and 28-6 overall. After enjoying so much success at Maryland, a traditionally dominant program, for two seasons, expectations were high for Brown. But the Boston native handled the pressure with poise, earning third-team All-American honors while ranking in the top 10 in the country in almost a dozen different categories.
As the team’s primary ball-handler, Brown facilitates the Duke offense and led the team with 131 assists last season. The redshirt senior is a threat from anywhere on the court, but is a consistent scorer from beyond the arc. She connected on 39.9 percent of her triples last season and her 73 three-pointers was second only to fellow redshirt senior Rebecca Greenwell, who led the team with 83. Brown’s ability translates to the defensive side of the ball as well, where she recorded 96 steals, good for fifth in the country.
Role on the Team: Duke finds itself this season in the rare position of having its two most prolific scorers as the team’s oldest players. As such, in addition to taking on a prominent role on the court, Brown and Greenwell will both be active leaders on the team in their final year of eligibility. Greenwell and Brown combined for 34.7 points per game in 2016-17, making them arguably the most dynamic duo in women’s collegiate basketball this season. With the addition of highly touted freshman guard Mikayla Boykin – who shattered a variety of North Carolina high school scoring records – Brown will have a variety of options to help generate offense and push the ball in transition.
Though Brown has spent just one year playing games with the Blue Devils, she has already cemented herself as one of the most decorated and accomplished players in program history. With high expectations for the team this season – Duke is No. 12 in preseason polling – all eyes are on the team captain to repeat and even improve upon her performance from last year to get the team farther in the NCAA tournament.
Projected stats: 19.1 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.3 RPG
Stay tuned with the Blue Zone for our continuing player previews with Lexie Brown tomorrow. Previous players previewed include Kyra Lambert, Jade Williams, Jayda Adams, Madison Treece, Mikayla Boykin, Emily Schubert, Leaonna Odom, Sofia Roma, Haley Gorecki, Faith Suggs, Erin Mathias and Bego Faz Davalos.
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