No. 25 Syracuse Continues Home Dominance in “Ugly Win” Over BC

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Syracuse Women’s Basketball (12-2, 2-1 ACC) bounced back with a 71-64 victory over Boston College (9-7, 1-2 ACC) Sunday night to push their win streak inside the JMA Wireless Dome to 13 games dating back to last season.

The reigning NCAA and ESPN Team of the Week cracked the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time under second-year head coach Felisha Leggette-Jack due to an upset win over No. 13 Notre Dame on New Year’s Eve. Cuse’s celebrations were shortlived following a 24-point loss against UNC in Chapel Hill where the Tar Heels outscored the Orange 25-6 in the third quarter to cruise to the victory.

Sunday’s contest saw reoccurring mistakes that plagued Syracuse last time out like low shooting efficiency and a high turnover rate. But, against a program like Boston College that entered winning six of their last seven games… you’ll take wins by whatever means necessary.

Head Coach Felisha Leggette-Jack and her coaching staff visibly frustrated in the first quarter.
Head Coach Felisha Leggette-Jack and her coaching staff visibly frustrated in the first quarter Sunday night.

“I’ll have an ugly win over a pretty loss any day. I thought that we didn’t do enough throughout the game, but we did some fun things at the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third. We really pushed our presence in front of them, and it provided that cushion that we ended up needing,” Legette-Jack said.

It took Syracuse over five minutes to record their first bucket on a Kyra Wood layup with seven of the team’s 25 turnovers during that stretch. When things weren’t clicking early for Syracuse, coach Leggette-Jack went to her bench and called upon guards Sophie Burrows and Kennedi Perkins for a spark. SU managed to edge out the Eagles at the end of the first frame, scoring seven straight points to make it 11-10.

Offensively, SU took the top off the basket midway through the second quarter, going on a 10-1 run to go up by six after a three-pointer from Burrows. The key to that stretch for the Orange was their aggressive defense, picking up BC from full court and not allowing the Eagles to take high-percentage shots.

The Orange defense swarming BC foward Teya Sideberry on her shot attempt. Sideberry had eight points in the first quarter and four for the remainder of the contest.
The Orange defense swarming BC forward Teya Sidberry on her shot attempt. Sidberry had eight points in the first quarter and four for the remainder of the contest.

“Defensively, once we got some stops and steals that turned over to offense. So defensively, it was really good for us to pick it up and stop them so we could get into our rhythm scoring. We stayed in the game because of it,” Perkins said.

Up by 32-22 at halftime, Cuse netted 12 of the first 14 points coming out of the break to build a sizeable lead that they would never relinquish. Burrows continued to contribute in the second half, setting new season-highs in points (17), rebounds (8), and minutes (33). The freshman hasn’t scored in double digits since the second game of the season against Central Connecticut State when she was a starter for fellow Aussie Georgia Woolley, who was out with an injury.

Freshman Sophie Burrows scored in double figures for the first time since November 10th, setting a new season-high with 17 points.
Freshman Sophie Burrows scored in double figures for the first time since November 10th, setting a new season-high with 17 points in the win.

“Coming off the bench, it’s kind of just about bringing the energy, so that was my goal tonight. I think we particularly needed it today, so I just really played into that role,” Burrows said.

After another five-minute scoreless drought, Burrow’s mid-range jumper gave Syracuse a 60-49 lead with 2:32 left in regulation. Boston College continued to fight till the final buzzer with Kaylah Ivey and T’yana Todd connecting on triples in the final minute. SU’s Dyaisha Fair went to the charity stripe for three consecutive possessions and hit clutch free throws to put the game away.

Fair ended with a game-high 21 points, going 10-12 from the line and 3-10 from beyond the arc. Syracuse’s other starters, like Alyssa Latham, Alaina Rice, and Woolley combined for just 18 points and shot 8-26 (30.7%) from the field. Coach Leggette-Jack recognized that it wasn’t the best shooting night for the trio or the team as a whole going 23-62 (37.1%) from the floor and 6-25 (24%) from three but complimented the reserves production on the offensive end. Perkins also dropped a season-high like Burrows, with nine points in the dub.

Guard Dyaisha Fair scored 12 points in the second half, including seven from the free throw line.
Guard Dyaisha Fair scored 12 points in the second half, including seven from the free throw line.

“It’s about the team. We need offense, so we got to put people in there that can put the ball in the hole. So some of the starters that were out there, they were doing a great job defensively. We needed that defense first, but then we needed offensive prowess, so you pNo. 25 Syracuse Continues Home Dominance in “Ugly Win” Over BCut somebody else in. At the end of the game, our kids are saying in the huddle take me out and put her in for defense. This is a player lead team, and they understand the assignment,” Leggette-Jack said.

Syracuse now leads the all-time series 38-26 and has beaten BC in three straight matchups. They’ll look to ride that momentum against Wake Forest (4-11, 0-3 ACC) Thursday morning in Winston-Salem at 11:30 a.m. Cuse beat Wake Forest last season in Central New York for the first ACC victory in the FLJ era, 67-58.

The Orange return to the JMA Wireless Dome for a meeting with the Clemson Tigers (8-7, 1-2 ACC) on Sunday at 2 p.m.