Duke women's basketball Player of the Week: Week 1

Azurá Stevens

Statline: Friday vs. Penn: 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals; Sunday vs. Winthrop: 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 14 rebounds, 8 blocks and 3 steals.

The good: Stevens led the Blue Devils in scoring in both games during the season’s opening weekend and shot at a very efficient clip. The sophomore forward came through when it mattered most, scoring seven of her 15 points against Penn in the fourth quarter to help Duke rally from a six-point deficit in a hard-fought 57-50 victory. The comeback was highlighted by a 3-pointer by Stevens that gave Duke a four-point cushion with under four minutes left to go in the contest.

The Cary, N.C., native also made a major impact on defense, with three steals in both games and nearly posted a triple-double with eight blocks against a much smaller Winthrop team. Her 14 boards Sunday helped the Blue Devils to a 51-36 rebounding edge against the Eagles, who did not have a player taller than 6-foot-3 and were overmatched inside against Stevens’ 6-foot-6 frame.

The bad: Stevens struggled with foul trouble in both games, making her unable to reach 30 minutes in either contest. Against the Quakers, she picked up her second foul less than two minutes into the game and had to sit for the majority of the first half. In Sunday’s game, she was called for two fouls in the first half again. Stevens finished both games with just three fouls after being more disciplined in the second halves, but Duke will need her on the floor more against the top-tier teams it will play for the rest of the season.

The bottom line: Stevens is unquestionably the leader of this team after being selected to the All-ACC Freshman Team last year, and the offense will run through her on most possessions. She rose to the occasion when the Blue Devils needed a few buckets in crunch time against Penn, and the ball will be in her hands during a lot more of the critical possessions as the season progresses. Her combination of height and quickness makes her a difficult matchup for any team, and she can exploit mismatches well against smaller teams like Winthrop.

Honorable mention: Rebecca Greenwell found her stroke against the Eagles after being held in check offensively Friday night. The redsirt sophomore torched Winthrop for 17 points of 5-of-10 shooting from the beyond the arc. Although she failed to reach double figures against the Quakers, Greenwell still hauled in eight rebounds to help Duke outrebound a big Penn team 44-29. The guard is also perfect from the free throw line to start the season, shooting 6-of-6 this weekend.