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Syracuse broke the full-court press and settled into its offense. Dyaisha Fair caught the ball in the corner and passed it inside to Saniaa Wilson. Unable to create anything in the post, Wilson turned to her right and lobbed it cross-court to Cheyenne McEvans, who caught it and immediately started dribbling to her left. 

There was nothing there. Using her next dribble, McEvans retreated, crossing the ball over to her right hand and driving toward the basket. Once she got to the middle, McEvans leaned into Iris Mbulito, looking for contact, and attempted a running hook shot that banked in. 

The layup was McEvans’ first bucket in a Syracuse uniform, after coming back from an ACL tear the season before, and it helped Syracuse extend its lead to 26 with four and a half minutes remaining in the game. 

“The doctor cleared me so I’m good,” McEvans said. “I came out there and played like I was good.” 

But it wasn’t a dominant performance from start to finish. After one quarter of play, the Orange trailed by one, 14-13. Sloppy play resulted in careless turnovers for Syracuse and both teams traded buckets until midway through the second quarter. Searching for answers to contain LIU’s offense and an equally stellar zone defense, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack turned to her bench for a spark.

Tallying 28 points on the night, the substitutes were led by Georgia Woolley and McEvans. Woolley, who played in Syracuse’s home opener against Stony Brook, had not seen the floor since and McEvans had not even been cleared to practice until last week. However, it was its energy and contributions on both ends of the floor that led Syracuse (4-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) to a comfortable 85-63 win over LIU (2-2, 0-0 Northeast).

Self-described as a scrappy, do-it-all kind of player, McEvans first checked in with 3:44 left in the first quarter. Before she was cleared to practice, she brought the energy on the sideline, egging her team on.

“At Buffalo she was our defensive captain so she stands for defense and that’s what she’s big on,” Fair said. “Her voice is a big piece for us.”

Just 12 seconds later, she made her first contribution. Catching a pass from Woolley in the right corner, McEvans drove baseline, drawing two defenders, one of which was Wilson’s. McEvans rose as if to shoot, before dumping the ball off at the last minute, giving Wilson a wide-open layup.

Woolley would have to wait for her third attempt at the basket to get on the scoreboard. She stood still in the right corner with 6:42 remaining in the second quarter. Teisha Hyman held the ball at the top of the key and passed it inside to Kyra Wood, who wavered around the free-throw line. Noticing that Cristina Bermejo’s back was turned toward her, Woolley cut backdoor toward the basket, hand in the air, asking for the ball. Wood turned, saw her, and passed. In one fluid motion, Woolley caught the ball and laid it up with her left hand. 

About a minute later, Woolley caused havoc inside for the LIU defense again. This time, off of an inbounds play, she received a pass from Hyman at the top of the key. Available to catch the pass because McEvans had screened her defender, Woolley capitalized on the displaced LIU player and drove to her left with controlled speed. One step inside of the free-throw line, Woolley tossed up a floater which nestled into the net, putting Syracuse up 25-21. 

Woolley’s made layup wouldn’t be the last time that the two players hooked up. Shortly after, with about four minutes left in the half, McEvans held the ball at the right wing and monitored Woolley’s slow jog from the opposite wing to the middle. Suddenly, Woolley darted into space and McEvans passed her the ball without hesitation. Now at the short corner, Woolley caught the ball, turned, and jumped, fading away from her defender as she shot. The ball bounced around the rim before falling for two more points. 

“I really feel that Georgia’s just an incredibly special young lady,” Legette-Jack said. “She might not be the fastest person but you can’t get by her. She might not have the quickest release but you can’t stop it because she has such a high arc on her shot.”

The narrative surrounding Woolley was that she was a talented scoring guard. However, tonight, Woolley showed that her length and understanding of the game could help her on the defensive side, too. Toward the end of the first half, the score was close between the two sides. Syracuse was up by two and LIU had possession. Tasked with guarding Mbulito, Woolley held her ground and did an excellent job fronting the guard. When an attempted entry pass arrived, Woolley used her outstretched left hand to knock the ball away. After a brief scramble for possession, the ball ended out of bounds, last touched by the Sharks. 

Understandably, McEvans received restricted minutes and totaled 16 in her return to the court. But she was engaged throughout. When McEvans wasn’t in the game, she was standing, clapping her hands and cheering her teammates on. When Legette-Jack called her name, McEvans stood at the top of SU’s 2-3 zone, hands balled into fists, legs crouched in a disciplined defensive stance. 

“It felt good to go back out there and win,” McEvans said. “Just flying around, getting in whenever I can, and talking to my teammates.”

Published on November 17, 2022 at 11:53 pm

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff