Rebecca Greenwell
The statline:
Sunday vs. North Carolina: 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting, 6-of-10 3-point shooting, four rebounds, three assists and zero turnovers
The good: With Lexie Brown on the bench for most of the second quarter in foul trouble, someone had to step up for the Blue Devils. Greenwell did just that, carrying Duke’s offense and scoring one point shy of her career high with 30 in a 95-71 victory against North Carolina. The Owensboro, Ky., native started scoring early and often Sunday, racking up 15 first-half points while Brown’s ability to impact the game was limited.
With strong perimeter shooting and moves off the dribble, Greenwell lifted the Blue Devils through several defensive rough patches and hit two 3-pointers in a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter that put the game away for good. The redshirt junior made good decisions with the ball, never turning the ball over and dishing out three assists.
“Becca was loaded and ready,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “She played her game and let it come to her, and her teammates found her, which was great, but she took full advantage. That zero turnover stat was huge—it was an excellent game.”
The bad: With such a dominant performance, it is difficult to find anything Greenwell could have done better. When pressed for flaws, Greenwell could have gone a little harder on the defensive boards—she pulled down just one defensive rebound in the win Sunday.
Additionally, Greenwell could have avoided more fouls, totaling three Sunday for a Duke team that finished the day with 18.
The bottom line: Heading into the postseason, Greenwell figures to be one of the two primary offensive catalysts for the Blue Devils. Her ability to lead and score is an invaluable asset for Duke that could take the team on a deep run in March if Greenwell can steady a turnover-prone offense like she did Sunday.
Still, Greenwell and the Blue Devils will need to prove that they can repeat their offensive success against quality opponents away from Cameron Indoor Stadium—Duke hasn’t beat a ranked team on the road in more than two years.
Honorable mention: While Greenwell took the spotlight Sunday with her scoring, Kyra Lambert set Duke up for its offensive success. The sophomore guard picked up her first career double-double, racking up 13 assists and scoring 12 points to lead a team effort of 30 assists and just 10 turnovers.
“Thirty assists is unbelievable. I have not seen that statistic in 25 years of being a head coach,” McCallie said. “I’ve seen 28, 29, but not 30. We’re excited about the ball being shared the way it was and for Kyra, and I’m really proud of her, because that’s so much of what her game is. Her ability to create and score, and just distribute the ball and rebound and kind of do it all. It was impressive.”
Lambert’s sweet passing facilitated Duke’s offense, including a string of five consecutive assists to fuel the Blue Devils' decisive run. Lambert was also strong on the glass, pulling down six rebounds for Duke as part of a strong team rebounding effort—the Blue Devils outrebounded the Tar Heels 42-22.
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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.