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Dyaisha Fair tried to drive inside from the right side of the floor with Tai Johnson in front of her. Johnson mimicked her motion, moving her feet to stay in front of Fair and forced her to momentarily lose the ball.

Fair was rattled, but she regained possession, set the ball within her shooting pocket and found her feet behind the 3-point arc. She rose and drilled her first points of the second half, simultaneously setting a new season high.

Fair had recorded 25 points by the final buzzer. She tallied four assists, shooting perfectly from the free throw line in her third consecutive 20-point game.

An explosive second quarter from Fair and a strong offensive showing in the latter half led Syracuse (5-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) to a 65-48 win over Bucknell (2-4, 0-0 Patriot). Fair propelled SU to a strong comeback after a lackluster first quarter of play and her backcourt running-mate, Teisha Hyman, produced 15 points to help carry the load.

SU’s matchup with Bucknell came after its first loss of the season against Penn State on Monday. After catching fire from downtown to start, the Orange built a double-digit lead that lasted up until the midpoint of the third quarter. But a fourth quarter collapse, where the Nittany Lions outscored the Orange, 34-17, handed SU an 82-69 defeat. Today, Felisha Legette-Jack’s team was able to bounce back but it would take some time.

In the first quarter, Syracuse recorded just six points. It started with a man-to-man defense, but miscommunication and a lack of urgency allowed Bucknell a plethora of open 3s. Still, both teams shot poorly, combining for no points from behind the arc after the initial 10 minutes of play.

After its first basket, SU grappled with a 5-minute scoring drought. Fair broke the streak with a layup to give the Orange their second bucket of the game. However, the brief offensive boost was not sustained and Bucknell ended the quarter leading by four.

SU started to look far more engaged on the defensive end in the second quarter. Racking up forced turnovers, combined with an absolute offensive clinic from Fair, helped build an eight-point differential over Bucknell heading into halftime, 28-20. Fair equaled Bucknell’s first-half production with 20 points.

Fair made a layup with 8:40 left in the second quarter, which sparked a personal 8-0 run. The first two baskets within that run came the exact same way. Both times, Fair pushed the ball up with speed and composure, looking around for options. On the first, after finding no open teammates in front of her, she took on her immediate defender, hesitating around the free throw line before driving hard toward her left.

After burrowing deep enough into the paint, Fair would then lean slightly backward, a mix between a layup and a fadeaway, to send a right-handed shot off the glass and into the net. In an attempt to stop Fair, Johnson created a wall with her hands in the air. But her taller frame wasn’t enough to influence any of Fair’s moves.

On another basket, Fair got into the lane, flying down the left side of the floor. She stopped in the paint and pump-faked, getting her defender in the air before stepping through with her left and finishing with her off-hand.

Three minutes later, Fair dribbled toward the left wing and waited as she motioned for Asia Strong to come set a screen. Strong came quick and high, positioning herself to Fair’s left.

The Bison didn’t want Fair to get to the middle. Fair dribbled a few times on the spot before realizing she couldn’t utilize the screen effectively. So instead, she opted to pull-up from deep and nailed the long-range shot. The bucket gave Fair her 15th point of the game, pushing Syracuse’s lead to four.

Toward the end of the first half, Hyman was able to get going, making two pull-up jumpers. And Dariauna Lewis poured in a multitude of contributions on both sides of the floor in the second half. Strong converted better inside. The frontcourt pairing finished with nine and seven, respectively.

The Orange started right where they left off in the second half. After making a layup to open the third quarter, Lewis blocked a Bucknell attempt to help Syracuse gain a chance in transition. Streaking down the court, Fair looked to lay the ball up on her left side before dumping it down to Lewis. Lewis was fouled and missed the shot, but she’d split her opportunities at the charity stripe to help increase SU’s lead to 11.

Fair pushed the pace with two minutes left in the third quarter, looking to increase the 13-point lead. She slowed down as she made her way to the right corner, handing the ball off to Hyman. Hyman drove off a screen and got into the middle going right to left. With a couple of bigger Bucknell defenders in the paint, Hyman opted to lean back to her right, suspended in mid-air, and banked in a hook shot over her shoulder.

Fair started the fourth quarter with an impressive defensive possession. Off of a made free throw, Fair disrupted Bucknell’s inbounds pass attempt and the ball trickled toward half court before Syracuse gained possession.

Hyman obtained control and drove toward the middle, carving open the Bison defense before kicking it back out to a wide-open Georgia Woolley on the left wing. Woolley hit the jumper just 40 seconds into the last period of play, securing her first basket of the game, to give SU a 17-point lead.

Hyman found her 12th point of the game on an uncontested layup with a little under seven minutes left. Just seconds prior, Fair held the ball on the right wing before crossing between her legs going to her left and drove.

Fair tossed up a lob just a couple of steps into the perimeter. Her pass found Hyman under the basket, who Hyman opted to finish successfully on the reverse side with her right hand.

Published on November 25, 2022 at 9:48 pm

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff