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Despite being outsized by a Clemson team with three six-foot starters, the Orange ruled the paint on Sunday. 

Dariauna Lewis and Asia Strong secured double-doubles, both totaling 10 rebounds while shooting at least 50% from the field. They used their big frames to get pristine position on the block for offensive rebounds, pulling down three apiece. 6-foot-3 Kyra Wood also managed four offensive rebounds with just 26 minutes of action after starting the game for SU.

The Orange (12-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) wrangled 21 offensive rebounds to Clemson’s (11-5, 2-3 ACC) 13, along with 23 second-chance points to the Tigers’ 10 in the 91-77 victory. With this, Syracuse has now won two-straight conference matches by double digits after dropping two-straight to ACC opponents. 

Strong’s game-high +25 differential came as a result of taking up space in the paint and swallowing up boards. With a minute-and-a-half remaining in the second quarter, SU led by one. Strong waited patiently beneath the basket as Georgia Woolley’s step-through jumper bounced off the rim and into Strong’s hands. She spun around and handed it back to Woolley, boxing out two defenders to get her teammate an open look. Woolley drilled it and SU went into the half up eight, its largest lead of the game at that point.

The basket gave the Orange a 4-0 run, which would evolve into a 24-1 run after the half. 

None of that would have happened without the rebounding efforts of Strong and Lewis, but also Wood and Teisha Hyman, who each finished with six. At 5-foot-8, Hyman could be seen flying over the top of Daisha Bradford and Brie Perpignan for rebounds she had no business getting. And her presence caused a raucous inside and gave SU opportunities to secure rebounds.

Even on the defensive side, SU caused panic in the paint and the ball always seemed to find an Orange player after rattling around. 

Hyman played the entire first quarter, racking up half of her point and rebound total for the game. She secured the first rebound of the game before heaving the ball up the court to Lewis who made a transition jumper five seconds later.

Syracuse’s first-quarter deficit started to cut down with around three minutes left. Wood made an easy putback to thin the lead to eight. That’s when Strong got involved, hitting a contested layup and then a pair of free throws to narrow the margin further. Clemson’s Amari Robinson was draped on Strong and Lewis all game, but couldn’t get in a groove, shooting 6-of-15 with only eight rebounds. Robinson was the biggest player on the court and SU put a clear emphasis on her defensively, which worked to their advantage.

Not a single Clemson player had double-digit boards and only Eno Inyang secured more than two offensive rebounds. So even though SU didn’t shoot much better from the field (45% to Clemson’s 41%), it held comfortable leads as a result of its extra possessions and inside scoring.

Syracuse scored a combined 54% of points from outside the arc or on second-chance opportunities compared to just 40% from Clemson. Because of SU’s dominance inside, Dyaisha Fair got some good looks from deep to open up the second half. 

Fair hit two threes in the first minute of the quarter and would finish the half with 17 of her 27 points, tying her season-high. She also hit a dagger with two minutes remaining, a 3-pointer from the wing to give SU a nine-point cushion and decimate Clemson’s chances. The Tigers would only score once more while SU piled on the points to reach 91, its highest conference total this season.

The Orange don’t have a single player on their roster listed as a center, but still came in averaging 15.1 offensive boards per game, ranking 29th in the country. Meanwhile, Clemson ranks 119th with 12.6 offensive rebounds per game. 

To start off the second half, Woolley pulled down a defensive board and immediately searched for an outlet pass. She chucked the ball up-court to Fair, who had time to set her feet and breathe in before hitting a wide-open 3. These transition passes were huge for the Orange, who scored 17 points off turnovers and totaled 20 assists. SU owned the paint, but it also made sure to get the ball out quickly once it was secured.

Meanwhile, Woolley struggled from deep, but used the bounce pass to feed her teammates and open up the floor. In the first quarter, she penetrated from the wing to draw out the paint defenders before bouncing it to a wide-open Strong on the block. Strong was already in position and she didn’t need to fight for the bucket, as she did so often against Robinson and Inyang later in the game.

As the second quarter closed, Woolley heated up on both ends. She blocked a pass from Perpignan and took off on a fast break down the middle. She saw Fair trailing her on the left side and dropped off a no-look bounce pass for an easy bucket. Woolley finished with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals in an all-around performance.

Published on January 8, 2023 at 6:29 pm

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu