SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge, Syracuse remained poised in a tight affair against Alabama.
Despite committing 24 turnovers, the Orange’s interior presence and rebounding prowess were enough to beat the Crimson Tide 79-73.
Freshman forward Alyssa Latham was huge for Syracuse, scoring a career high 23 points, to go along with 12 rebounds, and five blocks. This was Latham’s third double-double of the season.
After a disappointing four-point performance against Iowa State at the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout, Latham wanted to rebound and deliver for her team.
“I had a bad game,” Latham said. “My sisters needed me and I wasn’t there. I felt like I needed to step up and be there for my sisters so I could help tell our story.”
Although the Orange missed their first four shots to start, Latham made back-to-back jumpers to get her team going.
To end the first quarter, guard Dyaisha Fair connected with Latham on a buzzer-beating layup to give Syracuse momentum heading into the second.
In addition to scoring 20 points, the graduate student grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Syracuse led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, but Alabama wouldn’t go away.
The Crimson Tide would go on a 12-4 run to end the half, which included a three-pointer by guard Aaliyah Nye to beat the buzzer. Nye put up 17 points and was 5-10 from downtown, to go along with five steals.
Leading by six to start the second half, the Orange got a scoring burst from an unlikely source.
Center Izabel Varejão scored all seven of her points in the third quarter, including seven of the first nine for Syracuse.
However, Alabama would tie the game midway through the period, in large part due to guard Sarah Ashlee Barker.
Barker scored nine of her 18 points in the third quarter, and her eight assists were crucial in keeping the Crimson Tide competitive.
To make matters worse, the Orange had a scary injury moment after Fair went down with an apparent left knee injury.
Remaining poised, Syracuse emphatically responded with a 10-0 run and as Fair returned, the Orange regained a 10 point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Even with the lead, Alabama still came within two after Nye scored eight straight points with around two minutes left in the game.
The Crimson Tide’s full court press defense bothered the Orange all night long, as Alabama scored 25 points off Syracuse turnovers.
Out of the timeout, junior guard Georgia Woolley took a shot and missed, but the and-one second chance bucket for Latham capped an important win for the Orange.
Even though Woolley had an off-shooting night, going 4-16 from the field, she still had the green light to keep shooting.
“They [Alyssa Latham and Kyra Wood] give shooters the confidence to shoot…you put that up, you know they’re going to be there for you,” Woolley said.
Sophomore forward Kyra Wood had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Latham and Wood combined for the same amount of rebounds that Alabama grabbed as a team.
“I was focusing on where I needed to be on the court,” Wood said. “I knew that we needed to get second-chance opportunities…that puts us in a better spot to win the game.”
Speaking about shooting confidence, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack believes every woman on the Orange team has earned every shot they take.
“Whatever shot you’re practicing is a shot you’ve earned to take,” Legette-Jack said. “I want them to feel so confident about their position that they worked their tails off…anytime you feel ready to do it, you gotta do it.”
Following a win like this one, Legette-Jack wants more people to tune into Syracuse women’s basketball. After receiving votes in the coaches poll, Legette-Jack believes the Orange’s time will come.
“There still is a long way to go… but our story is so significant,” Legette-Jack said. “We want the world to know about Syracuse women’s basketball, and we’re not there yet. We’re coming.”
Sitting at 6-1, Syracuse will play Northeastern at home on Monday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.