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After dropping its first four Atlantic Coast Conference matchups, Syracuse won its first ACC game of the season Sunday over Miami. The win coincided with Kyra Wood’s return to the lineup after missing two games in concussion protocol. The senior recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 18 points — the most she’s scored all season — and 10 rebounds.
At media availability Wednesday, SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack wondered how the Orange would’ve fared in recent games if Wood, who hasn’t played more than 21 minutes since a Dec. 4 loss to Texas A&M, had been on the court.
“Her not playing those two games, her not playing against Notre Dame. I wish I had those games back to see how good we could really be,” Legette-Jack said.
Syracuse can’t change the past, but it had a chance to boost its ACC record and NCAA Tournament resume with a road game at Louisville Thursday. The Cardinals jumped out to an early double-digit lead, but Syracuse adjusted with its zone defense.
However, Louisville opened the third quarter on a 13-6 run, though the Orange prevented the game from getting out of reach. U-of-L went on a more than six-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter, but SU didn’t score for nearly three minutes, allowing the Cardinals to escape with the win.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (7-10, 1-5 ACC) 72-62 loss to Louisville (13-5, 6-1 ACC):
Slow Syracuse start
Syracuse fell behind right from the opening tipoff, missing its first three shots. Plus, Georgia Woolley committed two early turnovers, overthrowing passes to Dominique Camp. Legette-Jack went to her bench at the 7:11 mark, trailing 6-3 to bring in Wood. By the 5:42 mark, SU already had a 10-point deficit to dig out of, as the Cardinals’ Jayda Curry canned a 3.
The lone consistent early finisher for SU was Sophie Burrows, who scored the team’s first 10 points. She nailed a pair of corner 3-pointers and started 4-for-4 from the field while the rest of the team shot 0-for-4. However, Louisville exploded offensively early, scoring from everywhere with its many attacking weapons.
Woolley then got her first shot to drop after a brief time on the bench with an apparent shoulder injury. Wood followed by canning a couple of free throws, and Burrows connected on 1-of-2 attempts from the charity stripe. Wood finished with a tie for a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds in her second game back from injury.
SU did crank defensively, notching three steals in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the first quarter. The Orange nearly held the Cardinals to zero points in the final 2:59 of the opening quarter, but on the final play, Wood couldn’t secure the defensive rebound off a Curry 3. Instead, she inexplicably tossed the ball away to Merissah Russell, who beat the buzzer with a layup to push U-of-L’s advantage to 21-15.
After a slow start, where Burrows was the only Syracuse player making shots, Syracuse found its footing to pull closer.
Burrows heats up
Sunday’s win over Miami was the last game Burrows’ parents were in the United States to watch her play in person.
“I know that she wanted to fully have a great game, and it just wasn’t perfect in her favor,” Legette-Jack said postgame.
Amid her 3-for-13 shooting performance, Legette-Jack talked to Burrows each time she returned to the bench. The head coach told her to keep taking her shots. Finally, after missing her first five 3s of the game, Burrows sank a pivotal triple at the 2:06 mark of the fourth quarter to push SU’s lead to 59-52.
Burrows picked off where she left off against Louisville Thursday. She knocked down Syracuse’s first points of the game on an open corner 3 with 7:37 left in the first quarter. Burrows netted SU’s second and third shot, trimming its deficit to 13-5 at the 5:30 mark and then to 15-7. The Australian was behind Syracuse’s next make, too, getting to her spot in the left corner and netting another 3. By the end of the first quarter, the sophomore already had 11 points — seven off her career-high of 18 against UConn in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Though she cooled off in the second quarter, missing her next four shots after making her first four. Burrows drained an open corner 3 after SU beat Louisville’s full-court trap to cut within eight points in the third quarter. Burrows again canned a 3 to notch her 17th point and bring the Orange within nine early in the fourth quarter. That was her last point of the day, however, as she couldn’t eclipse her career high.
Zone defense stalls Louisville
With the Cardinals scoring at will in the opening minutes, Legette-Jack tweaked Syracuse’s defensive strategy. The Orange shifted from a player-to-player scheme to zone defense late in the first quarter, which halted Louisville’s offensive rhythm.
Following the 4:31 mark, around when Syracuse made the change, the Orange outscored Louisville 8-4. Part of SU’s defensive success was looking to surround a U-of-L player inside to force a steal. It worked effectively as Wood took the ball away from Tajianna Roberts, first at the 2:14 mark. Then, Woolley picked Russell’s pocket with 1:43 to go. Finally, Izabel Varejão yanked the ball away from Olivia Cochran.
SU added three more steals in the second quarter, effectively keeping Louisville off the scoreboard. The Orange held the Cardinals scoreless for five minutes straight during the second quarter. Then, Louisville scored nine points in a little over a minute. Though the Cardinals were held scoreless for the final 2:15 of the first half, going 0-for-7. But Louisville made its only tactical switches at the break to figure out the zone and regain offensive traction.
Third-quarter collapse
Saniaa Wilson netted a 2 on the first play of the second quarter to pull SU within one. But then, it was all Louisville. U-of-L went on an 8-0 run, catalyzed by two 3s from Curry. Wood netted two straight baskets for the Orange, but then Louisville answered with a 6-0 run to distance itself 48-36.
Part of the Cardinals’ success was SU’s inability to bring the ball out of the backcourt. Louisville employed a full-court press, and the Orange repeatedly coughed up the rock. To make matters worse, Woolley, SU’s primary ball handler, was forced to exit the game at the 6:42 mark after a hard fall. While Woolley was off the floor, Louisville went on a 10-3 run, hitting six straight shots. When Woolley reentered with 4:49 remaining in the third, SU was down 54-39. Woolley recorded 13 points in 36 minutes of action.
Syracuse regained its haunches, going on a 10-4 run in the final two-and-a-half minutes in the quarter. The run was led by Woolley’s return, who scored five points as SU figured out how to expose the full-court press employed by U-of-L. Still, Louisville shot a terrific 11-for-15 in the third quarter, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and gave itself a comfortable lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
In the final quarter, Louisville didn’t score for 6:43 minutes, but Syracuse couldn’t convert for 2:52 minutes in the middle of the quarter, either. Consequently, Louisville edged the Orange down the stretch even though it only made one free throw in the final 8:33 minutes.
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