A Tale of Two Wins
By Tyler Aitken | @TylerJAitken
Last week, Syracuse women’s basketball won two straight ACC games for the first time this season. However, the victories couldn’t have been any more different.
On Thursday, SU went on the road to take on Virginia Tech, a team in the top half of the ACC standings. The Orange left town on the winning end of a 93-87 shootout. Then, on Sunday, Syracuse stayed at home to host Wake Forest, and grinded out a 62-50 triumph. Despite the wins being just days apart, SU looked like two completely different teams during them.
Diving deeper into the game against the Hokies, the offense was obviously on fire for the Orange. Syracuse’s 93 points was its highest output in an ACC game since January of 2021. Sophie Burrows set a career high with 28 points, tallying eight three-pointers, more than anyone has ever made against Virginia Tech. She was the offensive leader for the ‘Cuse, but did have help, with four other Orange players reaching double figures. That came from great ball movement; namely, 24 assists. That number hasn’t been allowed by the Hokies at home since 2001. Long story short, Syracuse dominated Virginia Tech’s defense in historic fashion. All of that offensive production helped overshadow a -14 rebounding margin and a catastrophic day of interior defense, with 48 points in the paint given up to the Hokies.
Sunday’s win over Wake Forest, the team in last place in the ACC, was the complete opposite. Syracuse shot just 37% from the floor and 23% from deep. Only two Orange players tallied double-digit points. Instead, the dominance came on defense for the ‘Cuse. 50 points is the fewest SU has allowed to a conference opponent since December of 2021. The Orange locked down the Demon Deacons especially well late in the game. Wake scored just nine points in the fourth quarter. A +4 rebounding margin helped Syracuse control possession down the stretch.
No matter how you slice it, these games were polar opposites, at least statistically speaking. However, Orange head coach Felisha Legette-Jack doesn’t really see that as her main takeaway from the pair of wins.
“It’s all in the same direction,” Legette-Jack said. “It’s finding our purpose, finding our freedom, finding our passion. In this game of basketball… it’s going to be different. That’s the beauty of this game.”
However, she did acknowledge that being able to win in multiple ways is valuable.
“It just shows what we can do,” Legette-Jack said. “We can play the game in a multitude of ways.”
Specifically, Coach Jack was pleased with how much SU’s defense stepped up on Sunday.
“I thought that the main difference of last game was Saniaa Wilson,” Legette-Jack added. “She came in and did defense the way we play it. We battled, battled, battled.”
Battling was the theme of the last week for Syracuse. The battles were very different, but the result was the same. That versatility will be massive down the stretch, as the Orange battle for a spot in the ACC Tournament.
