Syracuse womens basketball: Orange fail to sustain hot start against #20 NC State, fall 74-66

Despite a 10-point lead at half, the Orange failed to upset a team they haven’t beaten since 2017.

The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team (7-12, 1-7) failed to build on an excellent opening quarter as #20 NC State (15-4, 7-1) fought back to win 74-66 on Thursday evening in the Dome.

The Orange came into the matchup following a 51-92 blowout loss at Boston College, which clocked in as the largest margin of defeat since Head Coach Felisha Leggette-Jack took the reigns of the program back in 2022. Conversely, the Wolfpack entered the game riding a three-game win streak.

NC State also had reason to be confident, given that they have not lost the duel since 2017. With these recent trends, attendance has clearly suffered as there appeared to be less than 1,000 fans in the Dome, the student section sitting practically empty.

Georgia Woolley got the scoring started for the Orange on the day. Coming off of recent injury woes, the Australian still played 37 minutes and was able to make the most out of them with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

SU was in control of the game early on, gobbling up both offensive and defensive rebounds, creating fast breaks and second-chance opportunities. Kyra Wood spearheaded this effort following her stretch of a few missed games, grabbing three rebounds in the opening five minutes. Wood finished the game with 14 points and nine boards.

With SU’s shots falling, the team rushed out to a 24-15 lead in the first quarter, inspired by the efforts of Wood and early nine points and six rebounds from Sophie Burrows.

NC State looked uncomfortable and disoriented following Cuse’s early successes, turning the ball over five times in the first half, accompanied by a few other reckless moments.

Despite their early struggles, the Wolfpack managed to keep the game within reach, particularly through the individual brilliance of leading scorer Aziaha James and Madison Hayes, to whom the Cuse couldn’t find an answer.

SU soon went on a difficult run themselves, only hitting three field goals in the first seven minutes of the second quarter. This trend would continue through the rest of the match.

As the period wore on, the Pack chipped away at the lead, with eight different scorers contributing points in the opening half.

Just when it looked like the game might be leveled up, the Orange erupted to tack on 11 more points in the closing minutes of the half, re-establishing a comfortable lead.

Izabel Varejāo, Wood, and Woolley appeared to be performing at full tilt over this stretch as SU entered halftime with a 42-32 lead.

The perimeter defense over the first half was much-improved compared to recent showings, as SU limited the Pack to 1/10 from three compared to their 35% average. The Orange have allowed opponents to hit around 36% of their three-pointers this season, showing that something was clearly going right through the first half of the game.

Additionally, the Orange racked up an impressive 10 assists in the half as the team was constantly finding outlet passes and rushing out on the break to score easy buckets.

“We were pushing it fast, and making them work and think,” explained Coach Jack.

However, NC State started off the second half on a new mission, showing increased intensity and diligence on the ball.

With the Orange failing to hit the shots that had fallen in the first, the lead was reduced to three to end the third quarter behind an explosive period for the Wolfpack, who went 3/3 from three and 9/18 total from the field.

The margin could have been even worse for the Orange if not for the efforts of Burrows, Woolley, and Wood, who scored 12 of SU’s 15 points in the period.

After the game, Coach Jack described how, in the first half, when things were going well, her team had made conscientious efforts to control, speed, and slow the pace of the game to disrupt NC State’s rhythm.

In the second half, she said that the team “started thinking about them way too much, and this is what they were going to do next, including me. We lost focus on us, and that cost us.”

NC State scored first and converted the and-one attempt at the start of the fourth quarter, setting the score at 57 each. The game was now in the balance with nine minutes to go.

After the Orange got a bucket back, the game went quiet for nearly three minutes before NC State scored again to level things up.

The remainder of the quarter was a defensive battle, with both teams congesting the paint on defense and struggling to hit from outside on offense.

Sophie Burrows provided a spark for the Orange, grabbing a few buckets in the late stages as the sophomore led the team in scoring with 16 points on the night.

Despite Burrows’ impact, the teams continued to grind for points, but they were hard to come by, and going into the final minute of the game, Cuse was down 66-69.

Dominique Camp missed the shot to equalize with 30 seconds remaining, and after a few rounds of the free-throw game, the final score read 74-66 in favor of the visitors.

Despite the difficult result, Coach Jack praised her team’s mentality and desire, explaining that “they’re all still in, they’re all still fighting for Syracuse University Women’s Basketball […] and I’m so proud of them for that.”

Following this difficult result, the Orange will travel down to South Carolina to take on ACC foes Clemson (11-9, 4-5) on Sunday afternoon. Stay tuned for updates on that matchup and all things Syracuse Basketball.