On January 12th, Syracuse beat the Eagles 83-73 and are sitting at 13-4 and 4-2 in the ACC. Since that win, the Orange have struggled, going 1-5. There is some positive for Syracuse in that stretch as three of those losses came against ranked opponents. The negative is that on the other side of their rematch with Boston College are three more ranked opponents in a row.
This rematch would be an important contest as a whole for Syracuse, but one that was headlined by Dyaisha Fair, who became just the second active player to eclipse 2500 points. She was able to accomplish that feat in her first season with the Orange, but scored all of them for Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack.
With the Orange still searching for their first win over a ranked opponent this season, the team and Fair would need to capture the opportunity the Eagles offered. It was a chance to pick up some much needed momentum before hosting the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. For both teams it would hinge on the success of three players. For the Eagles, Maria Gakdeng, T’Yana Todd and Taina Mair combined for 53 of the teams 72 points while the Syracuse trio of Dyaisha Fair, Georgia Woolley and Dariauna Lewis outmatched them for a combined 59 of the team’s 79.
The first half was about Georgia Woolley, who went into the break with 18 points with the team up by 15. Woolley did it from all over the floor with a few triples, but just like Fair, she excelled at the free throw line. She and Fair were each 8-8 from the line while Woolley was able to add eight boards and two steals. Fair exploded for 13 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter to go with seven assists and four rebounds of her own. Dariauna Lewis would only go 1-3 from the line, but played an all-around game with an efficient 15 points on 7-12 from the field. She added nine rebounds, which she believes would have been 10 had Woolley not stolen her last one.
Alaina Rice would add nine points from three triples, but would overall struggle from the field, going just 3-10. In the context of a game where you led by 15 at the break and are shooting above 40 percent from the field and from deep, it was hardly a concern. The support from Syracuse’s depth became a concern in the third quarter when the field goal percentage dipped; they only got to the free throw line once and failed to make a single three. The Orange were also beaten up down low, giving up 46 points in the paint and 24 points on the break.
Syracuse did their damage off turnovers and on the glass as they scored 18 points off turnovers and 17 second chance points. What this indicates is that they did well taking advantage of Boston College’s mistakes, but it raises the question of what happens against the ranked opponents like North Carolina that won’t make as many mistakes as the Eagles. North Carolina will have to be forced to make more than their normal share of errors or Syracuse will have to play better in multiple facets of the game to beat a ranked opponent. They certainly have it in them after watching them open up a 22 point lead at one point. It’s on to three straight ranked opponents: #14 UNC, #10 Notre Dame and #19 Florida State.