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Felisha Legette-Jack just wanted her players to compete with intent. Before Syracuse’s Sunday afternoon matchup with Wagner, Legette-Jack said she expected accountability from the Orange as they struggled to come out of the gates strong for nearly three weeks. In fact, SU hadn’t led after a first quarter since Nov. 21. 

But against the Seahawks, a team dangling at .500 with an average offensive output, the Orange looked to come out rolling. For the opening tipoff, Teisha Hyman was at mid-court, not any of Syracuse’s bigs, going up against Wagner’s Kem Nwabudu. After the first tip was called off, Hyman beat Nwabudu, creating some fast movement to give Alaina Rice a score on a slightly contested layup.

Syracuse (8-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) went up 2-0, and held onto the lead for the rest of the game. Any mistake the Orange made seemed to be rectified against Wagner (4-5, 0-0 Northeastern). For all the missed shots from SU, there was a steal or a quick offensive board to get the points back, eventually winning 83-53. The rout was the first time this season in Legette-Jack’s mind that Syracuse beat a team “badly.” 

As the game wore on, Syracuse punished the Seahawks inside with Dariauna Lewis, Asia Strong, and Saniaa Wilson, all combining for 27 boards. The Orange eventually out-rebounded Wagner 58-25. 

But Legette-Jack has been looking for that fast start for a while now. The last time the Orange were in the lead after the first quarter was on the road against Penn State, where they blew a 21-point lead in the second half. While the Orange’s slow starts against Bucknell, Yale and Coppin State were all rectified, their early slump against Purdue was insurmountable.

The comeback wins came after in-game adjustments, like when the Orange started relying on more ball movement in their victory over Coppin State on Thursday. But against the Seahawks, the Orange really never had to do that, finishing with more assists, rebounds and blocks, and also recording a higher field goal percentage. 

In the minutes after the opening score, Legette-Jack did not like how the Orange played, but they still controlled the game against the Seahawks. Dyaisha Fair was looking to go fast after Wagner was called for another traveling violation. Fair decided to kick the ball to fellow SU guard Georgia Woolley. Woolley made a slick pump fake from the top of the key, but her shot hit the rim, leading to a fastbreak chance for the Seahawks.

On Wagner’s next possession, however, Fair stole Marisa Sanchez-Henry’s pass, causing a fast-break opportunity on the other end. Once again, Fair opted to throw the ball to Woolley, who had a step on everyone. But as she drove to the basket, she drew contact, leading to two made field throws for the Orange.

Fair, who Legette-Jack described as “six rebounds per game player,” leaped and got her first board of the afternoon with less than three minutes to go in the opening quarter. She quickly passed up to Lewis, who threw an inside pass to Strong. Strong scored easily on the layup.

On Syracuse’s next possession, Hyman zoomed up the court on another fast break, weaved through three different defenders, dribbling the ball behind her back. Her layup hit the board, but Lewis got the rebound and scored on the putback. Not even 30 seconds later, Hyman and Lewis ran it back where the guard missed the close shot, before Lewis scored again.

“I know that when I’m there for a rebound, it gives (Syracuse players) confidence to be like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna keep shooting because I know somebody’s gonna rebound.,’” Lewis said.

Lewis dominated the first half, recording a team-best 13 points and eight rebounds. She took advantage of her teammates’ misses and scored on putback layups. Lewis, who ended the game with 12 boards, prompted Legette-Jack to call her “the female Dennis Rodman” because of the rebounds leading to second chance points for the Orange.

“Character is revealed when mistakes are being made,” Legette-Jack said. “The shots are going off and you have a choice. You can go after it now, or you go after it the second time or the third time.”

Even as Legette-Jack was screaming from the sidelines for her players to make a change, Lewis got another offensive board and scored again, increasing Syracuse’s lead to 15 points in the first quarter. But Lewis wasn’t alone with her success inside.

When backup forward Saniaa Wilson entered the contest in the second quarter, she too dominated the paint. Saniaa collected her first rebound of the game in the final four minutes of the first half. Later in the quarter on back-to-back possessions, Saniaa got back-to-back layups, including one off of her own offensive rebound, eventually finishing tied with the most points on the team with 13.

“It would be finding the open lane and taking shots I know I can take,” Saniaa said when asked about her performance this afternoon. “Coach Jack tells us, ‘Do what you can see the stuff that you can make.’ ”

In the last three minutes of the fourth quarter, Saniaa continued to thrive inside, recording two layups, one of them after collecting an offensive board. Her play helped Syracuse increase its lead to 45-23 by halftime.

After Nwabudu made the jumper from the right side, Fair came back down and nailed her first 3-pointer of the afternoon to make the score 58-35. Nearly two minutes later, Fair knocked another shot from beyond the arc. Fair used her quick dribbling again to create some space, opening up the floor for Strong to record five points in the third quarter.

The Orange had yet again pulled away after the lead ballooned to over 20 points at the end of the first half. The Syracuse bench was clapping and cheering for the win, but it had already won the game by halftime. The only thing worth getting excited about for the Orange was when bench player Ava Irvin came into the game in the fourth quarter and knocked down a jumper to make the score 77-50. Every player on the Orange’s roster scored points, ending the day with the second-largest margin of victory so far this season.

“I know we got more in the tank,” Legette-Jack said. “I think we’re going to be more disciplined defensively…But (the win) was growth.”

 

Published on December 11, 2022 at 4:09 pm

Contact Henry: [email protected]