In Duke's season opener Sunday, graduate student Rebecca Greenwell joined the ranks of some of the greats in program history, and her place in the record books is no accident.
On the road against Grand Canyon, Greenwell reached a milestone that only 10 of her predecessors in a Blue Devil uniform have ever topped, scoring her 1,500th career point, and she could add more accomplishments to an already impressive resume before the year is done.
Greenwell started her final season with a bang, scoring 19 points to lead a Blue Devil team with all five starters reaching double figures for the first time since 2015. Her all-around game was on full display as the Blue Devils surged to a 74-61 victory against the Antelopes—Greenwell finished with seven rebounds and five assists on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.
With a triple in the third quarter, Greenwell increased her scoring total to 17 points on the game. But this basket meant a lot more than the three points on the scoreboard, though the accomplishment had to wait. To close the first half, classmate Lexie Brown led a two-on-one fast break as the clock ticked toward zero. At the last possible moment, Brown passed the ball to Greenwell, who put it up and in.
The officials initially ruled the basket good, which would have given Greenwell 1,501 career points. But after a short official review, the basket was waved off and the graduate student entered the locker room needing a mere free throw to reach the 1,500-point benchmark.
Greenwell surpassed it with that third-quarter 3-pointer and finished the day with 1,504 career points.
“That’s big time. I am really thankful for that,” Greenwell said. “I didn’t know that before this, but I love my time here at Duke, so that’s just a great honor because [my teammates] set me up every single game. I’m just looking forward to this season, having a great year and just having fun out there.”
Along with that accomplishment, there may be many more in store this season for the preseason All-American.
Greenwell was perfect from behind the arc in the game, going 5-of-5 from deep, including four in the first quarter to give the Blue Devils a 19-14 lead. With her career total now standing at 234, she moved into 20th place in 3-point field goals made in the ACC record books. The only former Duke player standing in her way is Tricia Liston, who graduated in 2014 and set the mark at 252. Greenwell is also now just 101 attempts shy of claiming the Duke 3-point field goals attempted record from 2009 graduate Abby Waner.
“Becca works so hard. She has an incredible work ethic. Those numbers, those mean something to Becca for the rest of her life,” Blue Devil head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.
Another benchmark could be set come Thursday night against High Point, but will more likely be accomplished Sunday afternoon when the Blue Devils travel to Philadelphia to take on Villanova. Greenwell needs just 12 more rebounds to become the first Duke player in program history to score 1,500 points, grab 600 rebounds and connect on 200 3-pointers.
Furthermore, the graduate student can become just the third Duke player to amass 1,500 points and 700 rebounds. Unlike the other statistics, this one will take some time to attain. Greenwell’s rebounding number stands at 588, meaning she needs 112 more rebounds for 700 in her career. But barring injury, she will likely join Monique Currie and Alana Beard at this mark.
In Greenwell's previous three seasons, she has pulled down 187, 177 and 217 rebounds, respectively. If she grabs seven rebounds per game like she did against Grand Canyon, Greenwell will accomplish this feat in January.
“We don’t really concentrate on [the accomplishments] in season, but certainly at the end of the season and recognizing the impact she’s had,” McCallie said. “All of that comes later, and that’s part of a long list of things that Becca has done.”
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