Syracuse women’s basketball: Orange face critical wake-up call after tough loss to Saint Joseph’s

Is it time to panic? Not after one game, but…

The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team were expected to face numerous hurdles during this 2024-25 season — the departure of superstar scorer Dyaisha Fair, a mostly-new roster and plenty of question marks with how the program would fare on the court.

Is there already cause for concern for the Orange this early into the year?

For the first time in the Felisha Legette-Jack era, the Orange took a loss within the first two games in a season. Syracuse fell by 14 points at home to the Saint Joseph’s Hawks, a game where the team led by as much as 11 points and later trailed by as much as 21 points.

Saint Joseph’s rallied behind strong performances from Talya Brugler and Mackenzie Smith, who couldn’t be stopped by Syracuse all game. The duo combined for 54 points on 19/37 for the field (51%) and 10/17 from three. The Orange turned the ball over 21 times yet only had 13 assists, a combo the team really can’t afford considering their already-present offensive limitations.

In a season that goes at least until March for everyone, there is still plenty of time left for the Orange to rebound after Sunday’s game and improve going forward. It’s a roster that will learn plenty of lessons after falling to Saint Joseph’s and should at least grow before heading into the thick of conference play.

Yet, some potential on-court problems are already manifesting for the team. The Saint Joseph’s game highlighted some of the big ones.

Syracuse led 20-9 at one point during the second quarter; by halftime, there was a 14-point swing that saw the Hawks go up three at halftime. The Orange were outscored 51-29 in the second and third quarter combined.

When the going gets tough and the offense stalls, do the Orange have someone they can credibly go to for a good shot or much-needed bucket?

Georgia Woolley has averaged 18.5 points after two games, and she has certainly taken a step in a positive direction with more scoring on higher volume with Fair no longer on the court. But, there aren’t any other true experienced point/lead guards on the roster at least at this point in the year.

That rotation includes Madeline Potts, Dominique Camp, Olivia Schmitt and Angelica Velez who all combined for 10 points, 3/9 shooting, 8 assists, 6 turnovers and 5 steals. As defenders and playmakers, the point guard depth chart is solid on a good day, but none has proven to at least be a credible shotmaker or outside shooter.

Speaking of outside shooting, that will be the other major concern for the Orange moving forward. Syracuse did shoot 6/13 from three (46%) against Saint Joseph’s, but there’s two major caveats. First, Sophie Burrows went a perfect 4/4 from three; everyone else combined to shoot 2/9 from three. Second, and more of a concern, is the volume.

Out of the 11 players who played for the Orange in the Saint Joseph’s game, five didn’t take a three, four took two attempts or less and the Woolley-Burrows combo were the only ones to take for. For context, Fair averaged 8.5 threes per game alone and knocked those down at a 36% clip.

If Syracuse plans to play more on the inside, the team can’t rely on Izabel Varejão and Kyra Wood combining for 15 points on 18 shots. That combo will be critical if Syracuse has any success establishing some success in the paint, crashing the glass and getting easier looks.

With all the talk being about the offense, defense is arguably more of a concern considering Syracuse doesn’t have the scoring upside it did last year. Again, if the offense is going to be inconsistent at times, the defense needs to be solid. It just wasn’t against Saint Joseph’s.

Is it time to panic? Not after one loss in the second game of the year. However, the journey is going to get a lot tougher from here with tough non-conference games, starting off with a rematch versus Maryland this week.

The Orange are going to need to adjust and fast, or it’s going to be a long year.