Rebecca Greenwell
The statline:
Thursday vs. Rutgers: 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting, six rebounds, five assists and one steal
Sunday vs. South Carolina: 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting, three rebounds and three steals
The good: Although Greenwell entered the season as the team’s leading returning scorer and an important team leader, the redshirt junior had notably struggled to perform in big-time games. Sunday afternoon, the more mature Greenwell finally delivered.
With a dominant offensive performance against No. 3 South Carolina, Greenwell helped deliver the Blue Devils their first win against a ranked opponent in nearly two years. The Owensboro, Ky., native drained 4-of-7 3-pointers just two games removed from setting a single-game school record with eight 3-pointers against Pepperdine to pace Duke’s offense. Greenwell also hit two key free throws late in the game to seal the victory and combined to make nine of her 10 shots from the charity stripe for the week.
Before arguably the best game of her career Sunday, Greenwell headlined the Blue Devils’ offense against Rutgers, connecting on 3-of-7 3-point attempts. Greenwell also scored eight consecutive points in a first-quarter run that gave Duke a commanding 24-5 lead at the end of the period.
The bad: After a dominant performance in one of the biggest wins for the program in recent memory, it’s difficult to find many negatives from Greenwell’s week.
The 6-foot-1 guard was a bit sloppy with the ball at times, turning it over three times against Rutgers. Although she led the team in scoring Thursday, she didn’t show much from inside the arc, attempting just two 2-point field goals and missing both.
The bottom line: Greenwell has proven she is this team’s go-to scorer when the game is on the line and could emerge as one of the nation’s most potent offensive threats. The presence of former All-American and junior guard Lexie Brown and an improved sophomore point guard Kyra Lambert in the backcourt alongside Greenwell has forced defenses to respect everyone, creating more opportunities for Greenwell to score. During the win, the Blue Devils looked like an efficient team that could compete with and beat the nation’s best.
Honorable mention: The unsung hero for this Duke team so far has been senior forward Oderah Chidom, who helped limit the best post duo in the nation—South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson and Alaina Coates—to just 26 points and 11 rebounds Sunday.
Chidom made a big impact on both ends of the floor Sunday, adding 15 points and leading the team with eight rebounds. She also displayed her balanced game against Rutgers, scoring nine points and collecting a team-high seven rebounds and three steals.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
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.