Orange Win Thriller, Showcase Their Depth

On Thursday night the Syracuse Orange rallied from behind to take down Georgia Tech 62-59 in a hard-fought ACC battle.

It was Izabel Varejao’s first game back on the court. Fittingly, it was the front-court that won it for the Orange.

In a game that would come down to the final shot (twice), the Orange prevailed. Coach Felisha Legette-Jack praised her teams resiliency, and that they were, as Syracuse was forced to rally from as much as an 8 point deficit in the first half of play to pull out their 19th victory on the season.

The start was rocky, as Dyaisha Fair struggled to find her range (something she usually finds quite quickly), finishing only 2-8 from behind the arc on the night. This combined with 4-9 three-point shooting from Georgia Tech in the first half saw the Yellow Jackets take a 31-28 lead into the halftime break.

But Varejao, in her first game back, just wouldn’t let her team lose. She dropped 13 points and 7 rebounds on the night while coming off the bench for the Orange, as the frontcourt as a whole shouldered the load, scoring 34 of the Oranges 62 points.

Izabel Varejao shoots a jumper over Georgia Tech forward Kayla Blackshear during Syracuse’s win over Georgia Tech – Patrick Smith 2024

The game would eventually come down to the final possession for the Yellow Jackets, who, after a pair of missed free throws by the Orange, had two solid looks at 3s to tie it. Both missed the mark though, as Syracuse secured the comeback victory.

This game was huge for Syracuse in ways that go well beyond the box score. If the Orange want to make a deep run in March Madness this year, they’ll need to be able to win games like this. What do I mean by games like this? Games where Dyaisha Fair doesn’t score her usual 21-4-3. Games where other players have to step to center stage, and step there in a way which will continue to build the belief coach Jack already has in her squad.

It felt like the Orange needed this win, and they got it… and that’s what college basketball is all about in February and March. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t even have to be convincing, but it has to be a W, and that it was.