Syracuse Women’s Basketball is Less Than a Week Away
By Kiran Costa | @Costa_Kiran
Syracuse Women’s Basketball has one tune-up before the season begins, an exhibition against Daeman University next week. The Orange have never faced the Wildcats, a Division II school from the East Coast Conference. Daeman finished last season, 23-8, and made the NCAA Division II Championship Elite Eight. The game is Tuesday, October 29th at 7 p.m. in the JMA Wireless Dome. SU opens up the regular season campaign a week later, on November 5th when it hosts Niagara.
This will be our first look at this year’s Orange squad. The most notable change is the loss of Dyaisha Fair. Georgia Woolley is poised to take over the star role. She was second behind Fair in both points and rebounds on last year’s team. Coach Felisha Legette-Jack named Georgia Woolley, Sophie Burrows, Kyra Wood, and Angelica Velez the four captains for this year’s squad. This is Kyra Woods’s third consecutive year with the captaincy sharing it the past two seasons with Dyaisha Fair. Sophie Burrows and Georgia Wolley are both returners who have been named captain for the first time.
Angelica Velez is the only first-year Orange to get the captain’s honor. Velez, a Bronx native, went to high school at the Webb School in Tennessee. The guard was a highly touted out of high school, a four-star prospect by both ESPNW and Prospects Nation, she committed to LSU. Velez didn’t find the playing time she hoping for on a star-studded LSU team last season. She averaged just 4.9 minutes per game last year on a Tigers team that made it all the way to the Elite Eight. In those limited minutes Velez put up 1.2 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 0.2 steals, she is expected to jump into a starting role this year at SU.
Velez is joined by another transfer, forward Journey Thompson. The junior has spent the past two seasons at Arizona State. Thompson missed time her freshman year with an injury but excelled last season starting 25 of 31 games. She had a stellar campaign on both sides of the ball, she led the Sun Devils in rebounds and blocks while finishing top three in steals. Thompson was also strong offensively finishing fifth on ASU in scoring. Thompson, along with Kyra Wood, will be a key feature in the Syracuse guard play.
We expect to see almost every player on the SU roster in Tuesday’s exhibition. Coach Jack will get her first looks at freshmen Shy Hawkins, Madeline Potts, Olivia Schmitt, and Keira Scott.
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