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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — At last, Syracuse has woken up from its 36-year-long nightmare.

The Orange entered Purcell Pavilion Thursday evening without a single all-time road win over Notre Dame. Since they began annual meetings in 1988, ND has been a thorn in SU’s side that it can’t quite seem to rip out — the Fighting Irish owned a 19-0 home record versus Syracuse prior to opening tipoff.

Now, though, things are different. Hall of Famer Muffett McGraw is no longer helming ND. SU already upset Notre Dame 86-81 on Dec. 31, 2023 — its fourth-ever win over the Fighting Irish. Felisha Legette-Jack’s squad was off to a 16-2 start and earned its highest-ever ranking on the AP Poll under the second-year head coach.

It was Syracuse’s time to rewrite history. And there was no better time to do it than in the fourth quarter — where it outscored the Fighting Irish 28-14.

Clutch 3-pointers from Dyaisha Fair, followed by tenacious defense that forced ND to chuck errant shots, allowed the Orange to take a 67-57 lead with 3:35 left. Searching for the dagger, Fair drove baseline and found a crack in Notre Dame’s perimeter defense, finding Georgia Woolley for a right-wing 3. SU’s late 13-point lead was far too much for ND to overcome.

No. 22 Syracuse’s (17-2, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) lifetime drought in South Bend, Indiana, came to a dramatic close Thursday night through a 79-65 victory over No. 15 Notre Dame (14-4, 5-3 ACC). Fair (game-high 25 points) and Alaina Rice (19 points) were the catalysts behind SU’s unabating offense and 38-32 first-half lead. ND clawed back in through a 10-0 run in the third, spurred by Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron, who combined for 37 points.

Though in the fourth quarter, turnovers and poor shooting by the Fighting Irish led the Orange to take advantage on the other end, helping Syracuse outscore Notre Dame by 14 in the final frame to secure its first-ever win in South Bend.

“We don’t look at the naysayers, we don’t look at 19-0,” Legette-Jack said postgame. “We can’t control what happened 19 times but we can control this moment.”

A back and forth clash between the two sides led to a game-deciding fourth quarter, with the score locked at 51-51. Syracuse worked its way to a nine-point lead in the third but Notre Dame responded with a 10-0 run to muscle back in.

Yet, SU had the Fighting Irish right where it wanted them. Time and time again, it’s played its best basketball through the final 10 minutes. A 19-point comeback against Clemson. Erasing an 18-point deficit to beat then-No. 15 Florida State. The Orange were in position for more fourth-quarter supremacy. They just needed to conquer their South Bend demons.

It all started with Fair, who Legette-Jack said always gives her team “a shot” at capturing victory. As soon as Fair touched the ball in the fourth, she attacked. Curling around the left wing to receive a handoff from Kyra Wood, Fair danced to the left and cut hard inside, putting a left-handed finger-roll off the glass and in.

A minute-and-a-half later, guarded by Citron at the top of the key, Fair crossed to her right and caused the junior guard to stumble. Without hesitation, Fair fired from 3 — nothing but net — to put Syracuse up 58-53.

As if Fair’s onslaught wasn’t enough, SU’s depth closed the deal. After a 2-for-2 showing at the free throw line by Citron, which cut ND’s deficit to four, Wood bullied past Notre Dame’s Natalija Marshall and hauled in an offensive board off a Woolley miss. Wood converted the put-back.

On the other end, Wood grabbed a bricked Citron 3 and kick-started a fast break. Woolley found Sophie Burrows, who scampered untouched into the paint, for an and-one layup — drawing a foul by a trailing KK Bransford.

Once Burrows sank her free throw, the Orange were up 65-56. All they lacked was a dagger, until Woolley’s all but game-clinching 3-pointer. Legette-Jack blushed postgame over Woolley’s performance. A sigh of relief, followed by an “oh my gosh” in reference to Woolley, was enough description.

“We don’t have a go-to player,” Legette-Jack said. “We have ‘Our family versus their team.’”

Syracuse delivered late. Yet it still had to push through some early miscues.

The opening quarter was a mess — for both sides. ND and SU combined for 12 turnovers in the first, though the Orange had the brunt of them with eight. Errant feeds from Fair. Passes intercepted by Citron and balls poked away by Hidalgo. Kennedi Perkins mishandling possession at midcourt. Even Hidalgo herself started off with a couple of botched passes that flew into the crowd.

Both teams needed to settle in. And the Orange were the first to do so.

Notre Dame got itself into foul trouble late in the first, a crucial mistake in a tight contest. With over 1:30 left in the quarter, Marshall shoved Fair away from the play, which put Syracuse in the bonus. Fair split at the line, though Saniaa Wilson pulled in the board and kicked it back out to the point guard who drained a 3 from the left wing to give SU a 14-13 lead. Wilson knocked down a pair of free throws to set up a 16-15 advantage entering the second.

For the next 10 minutes, it was the Rice show. She dropped 11 points, a single-quarter season-best, off an efficient 5-for-6 from the field. All the more impressive, Rice was working on Hidalgo. She consistently drove left, recognizing Hidalgo’s struggles defending through that side, and earned high-percentage looks near the cup.

On Rice’s first touch in the second, she perfected an up-and-under layup around Hidalgo. On another play midway into the frame, Rice galloped from the right elbow to the left block, blowing past Hidalgo and finishing a floater off the backboard, which gave SU a 22-21 lead.

Meanwhile, Rice exuded confidence in her jumpshot. Later in the second, Rice crossed to her left and drew Maddy Westbeld off her, sinking the ensuing close-range jumper. Mere seconds later, Wood swung it to a wide-open Rice on the left wing. While Hidalgo was late to close, Rice instantly let one loose and drained a 3.

“She was going forward. The whole game,” Legette-Jack said of Rice. “The first possession of the game, she was going downhill. Alaina was the reason why we felt like we could go downhill a little bit with (Notre Dame) because our fifth-year, she’s showing us how.”

Rice’s efforts were followed by a step-back 3 from Fair that she hit over Anna DeWolfe. The triple gave the Orange a 36-29 lead that became a six-point halftime advantage. Even though the Fighting Irish stormed back, SU’s first-half allowed it to be in a position to do what it does best — running circles around opponents in the final quarter.

By the final buzzer, it was a similar story. Fair dominated, and Legette-Jack got the most out of her depth. But this time, Syracuse was in unfamiliar territory. The Orange swept Notre Dame for the first time ever while the Fighting Irish left their home venue empty-handed.

“I think winning is easy,” Legette-Jack said. “And I don’t say it in a way of being cocky. I say it because (of) the process. You’ve gotta go through the process…Yeah, (we are) 17-2, but these young ladies are really learning some life experiences and I’m so proud of them.”

Published on January 25, 2024 at 9:28 pm

Contact Cooper at: [email protected] | @cooper_andrews