Kyra Wood: Back and Better Than Ever
By Tyler Aitken | @TylerJAitken
Felisha Legette-Jack stood in front of Kyra Wood in the training room. The forward had missed two games as she went through the concussion protocol. Luckily, Coach Legette-Jack knew exactly what to do to help Wood.
She yelled at her.
It was a bizarre tactic. However, when Wood returned to action against Miami, it seemed to have done the job. The senior led Syracuse to a 66-61 victory, SU’s first ACC win of the season. Wood paced the Orange with 18 points and 10 rebounds. That performance was a relief for her.
“I felt almost helpless when I was out,” Wood said. “It was just hard to see some of those close games go down without me out there. I’d rather lose with them out there than lose on the bench and feel that helplessness.”
Those losses were by 12 points to Florida State and one point to SMU, with the latter coming in overtime. At the start of the Miami game, it seemed like Wood might have to watch from the sideline again. She rode the pine to start the game. However, after just four minutes, Wood got subbed in. The result? Two quick layups. It was the first time all year the forward came off the bench, but it didn’t matter.
“There was no adjustment,” Wood said. “I just go out there and play, whether I start, come off the bench, or just play the last minute of the fourth quarter.”
Wood played more than just the last minute of the fourth quarter. She was the anchor for Syracuse in eight minutes of the final frame. That represented nearly half of Wood’s 20 minutes on the court in the win over Miami. Her teammates felt a difference with their captain back in action.
“You know she’s on the court when she’s on the court,” said fellow senior Georgia Woolley, before she turned to her teammate. “I’m so glad you’re back, Ky.”
The positive energy from both Wood and her teammates was very different from the tone Coach Legette-Jack said in the days leading up to the game. However, that was for a reason.
“I had to find something to be mad at so she can know she’s not out of the game, out of the wrath of Jack,” Legette-Jack said. “I think that got her to really think, ‘I guess Coach sees me still.’”
That conversation, if you could call it that, didn’t just spur one strong performance from Wood. It was a turning point in the senior’s season. Since the win over the Hurricanes, Wood has increased both her scoring and rebounding averages. That play has led to team success as well. Syracuse started ACC play 0-4, but has gone 4-6 since the Miami game.
Despite the Orange’s recent uptick in success, they’re still 4-10 in the conference. That means Syracuse is at risk of missing the ACC Tournament. Despite all the unknowns with what’s to come over the last two weeks of the season, there’s one person SU and Coach Legette-Jack can always rely on.
“One thing I do know is she [Wood] has been with us for three years,” Legette-Jack said. “She knows how to play the game. Everyone else can just try to emulate her.”
