Second half surge by Louisville proves to be too much for the Orange

As Syracuse Athletics celebrated National Girls & Women in Sports Day, the Louisville Cardinals & Syracuse Orange squared off in the JMA Wireless Dome. It was a wild first half. Alaina Rice, Teisha Hyman and Dyaisha Fair all missed time with injuries. Fair was the quickest to return, and she looked just as great post-ankle injury as she did without one.

Fair’s eight-point second quarter was part of a 21-7 run that Syracuse went on to end the first half. Her buzzer-beater to end the half gave Syracuse a two-point lead in what ended up being a back-and-forth 20 minutes.

Dyaisha Fair finished the game with 19 points even after suffering an early injury (photo by Sydney Staples)

Sophomore guard Georgia Woolley’s play off the bench kept the Orange above water during Hyman and Rice’s absences. In an absolutely stuffed stat line, she ended the game with 20 points, two assists, four rebounds and five steals, but also eight turnovers.

If you take a panoramic view of the game, you’ll realize that the tide switched in the third quarter shortly after Louisville employed the full-court press against the Orange. The game was tied with just under two minutes left in the third. Then, in a snap, the Cardinals went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter.

Full-court pressure and double teams gave the Orange trouble in the second half (photo by Sydney Staples)

As turnovers began to mount for the Orange, Louisville was able to dominate in the fast break. Louisville scored 35 fast break points and 27 points off turnovers. Nyla Harris and Syracuse transfer Chrislyn Carr led the way for the Cardinals with 18 and 14 points, respectively.

In the end, a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter (which was part of a larger 19-2 run if you count the last two minutes of the third) proved to be the death knell for Syracuse as Louisville prevailed 79-67.

In her postgame press conference, Syracuse Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack reflected on the sheer absurdity of three of her starters getting injured in the same quarter.

“It was just the craziest game I think I’ve ever been a part of,” Legette-Jack said. “It was just… crazy, that’s all I can use. I didn’t know how to get them organized.”

On the issue of turnovers, Coach Legette-Jack was particularly peeved.

“You can’t give the ball to the team that don’t have the same shirt you have on. It’s simple,” Legette-Jack said.

Syracuse’s Head Coach, Felisha Legette-Jack with Sophomore guard Georgia Woolley, who led the Orange in points (20) and steals (5) (photo by Sydney Staples)

The Syracuse women will look to get back on track as they head to Blacksburg, Virginia to face #13 Virginia Tech on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.