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Dariauna Lewis had to get started early. With a little under six minutes left in the first quarter, Syracuse found themselves down 10-3, forced to call an early timeout. 

Coming out of the huddle, Teisha Hyman secured an open jumper from the free-throw line before Lewis scored two straight to help SU draw within one. 

At the 3:45 mark, Alaina Rice caught the ball in the paint, finding the much larger Anya Poole guarding her. This meant that Lewis, who was positioned on the perimeter at the time, either had guards Deja Kelly or Kennedy Todd-Williams assigned to her. 

Noticing the mismatch, Lewis cut inside, clapping for the ball. Rice dumped it down to her near the basket and Lewis drove to the cup, untouched, for a left-handed layup. Her next bucket would come a couple steps inside the arc. 

The paint was congested as Dyaisha Fair handed the ball off to Hyman. Hyman, spotting Lewis open near the top of the key, passed almost immediately. Showing no hesitation, Lewis canned a jumper over Poole’s outstretched arm. 

Lewis’ efficient start to the first 10 minutes helped Syracuse jump out to an early lead over No. 14-ranked North Carolina. Her tenacity on both ends of the floor eventually led to a monster double-double performance — her ninth of the season — as she finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds in SU’s (16-9, 7-7 Atlantic Coast) 75-67 win over the Tar Heels (17-7, 8-5 ACC) — its first ranked victory this season. 

“I give myself a ten-out-of-ten,” Lewis said about her performance tonight.

Last time out against Boston College, Lewis produced 15 points and nine boards on 7-12 shooting from the field. Her performance against the Eagles was her highest point tally since early December when she produced 16 in SU’s narrow win over Yale. 

Throughout the matchup with BC, she commanded the paint, playing with passion and aggression on the block down low against the opposition’s best player, Maria Gakdeng. Tonight, nothing changed according to Lewis. 

Rice put up a 3-pointer from the left corner but drew the front iron. Lewis grabbed the board and dished it back out to her for a second opportunity with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Syracuse worked the ball around the perimeter before Hyman drove past Kelly before dumping the ball off to Lewis underneath. Using her strength to shield Kayla McPherson’s attempted steal, Lewis received the pass and converted an easy look inside, giving the Orange a 13-12 lead. 

Almost exactly 10 minutes later, Lewis put in work on the defensive end, this time hunting down Kelly in transition who had given Syracuse all sorts of trouble in the first half. Sprinting past the timeline, Kelly’s hesitation at the top of the 3-point arc faked out Fair. Taking two more steps toward the basket, Kelly got past Saniaa Wilson before Lewis appeared out of nowhere, ferociously swatting Kelly’s right-handed layup out of bounds. 

“I have not shown off my full potential to the ACC yet and I feel it’s time for me to do that.” Lewis said. 

Toward the end of the third quarter, Syracuse led by 11 with a minute remaining. A North Carolina press ensued and the Orange were left scrambling in controlling possession before finally getting the ball into the frontcourt. Fair dished cross-court to Rice in the corner and Rice performed a bounce pass inside to Lewis. 

Turning to face the basket, Lewis pump-faked before driving baseline past Alexandra Zelaya. Originally penetrating on the left side of the basket, Lewis ended up on the right, executing a crafty up-and-under move to tack on two more points inside for SU — part of an essential 31-14 quarter where the Orange outscored the Tar Heels and never looked back. 

Affectionately nicknamed ‘Stretch’ since middle school because of her innate ability to efficiently use her size to cover the entire court, Lewis’ motor never ran out, even in the latter stages of an extremely back-and-forth matchup. However, the often animated Syracuse made big plays with an excitement that could sometimes translate into rash decision making. But tonight displayed a calm, cool and collected Lewis that honed in on her veteran experience. 

In the fourth quarter, although Lewis didn’t contribute in scoring, she grabbed four important rebounds. Two offensive boards came earlier in the final period and her final two capped off a dominant Syracuse home win. 

“When I’m in that mode, I’m in that mode,” Lewis said. “Can’t nobody stop me.”

Published on February 9, 2023 at 11:49 pm

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff