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Ahead of Thursday’s game at No. 24 Florida State, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said Syracuse needed to win two of its last three games in order to make the NCAA Tournament. Now, it needs to win the last two against Miami and Pittsburgh.

The Orange entered their matchup at No. 24 Florida State on ESPN’s Bracketology as one of the “First Four Out,” and a foul by Dariauna Lewis after a made Seminole 3, essentially put Thursday’s game out of reach as Syracuse (16-11, 7-9 Atlantic Coast) fell 78-65 to FSU (21-7, 10-5 ACC).

Syracuse, just like it has in many games against ranked opponents, kept it close with the Seminoles in the first half. Though it did trail by double digits early in the second period, Syracuse was down just seven at the end of the first half. With aggressiveness in the third period, the Orange cut the deficit to just three entering the fourth quarter. But even though SU cut the deficit to two in the period, FSU closed the game on an 11-0 run.

Similar to the 11-2 start by North Carolina a week ago, it didn’t take long for Legette-Jack to burn a timeout, this time in just under two-and-a-half minutes into the game. The Seminoles scored a 3 at the wing to kick off scoring while the ACC’s leading scorer Ta’Niya Wilson added a transition layup and a jumper. Alaina Rice hit a very contested floater off the glass as the shot clock expired, but FSU led 8-2 as Legette-Jack tried to regroup her team.

The Orange stormed back just like they did against the Tar Heels. Rice hit a baseline jumper and Dyaisha Fair scored a fast-break 3 in transition. Rice stole the ball and passed the ball upcourt to Fair, who scored an easy layup as Syracuse took a 9-8 lead.

Syracuse often drove down the lane, absorbing contact and getting to the bucket. Teisha Hyman drove the basket and her layup just lipped out of the rim, while Georgia Woolley scored on a similar play. Hyman later drove to the basket, but dished it off for an easy 2 by Kyra Wood, who was left open after her defender approached Fair.

Legette-Jack said Hyman was around 85-90% on Wednesday after she suffered a lower-body injury in SU’s game against Louisville a couple of weeks ago. Still, Hyman was aggressive, constantly crashing the glass and driving the lane. Similar to her assist by Wood, Hyman made the same play, but to Lewis, who drew a foul on her shot, but missed both layup attempts. Hyman scored just four points with five rebounds.

Florida State extended its lead to 10, holding a 31-21 advantage at one point, even with Latson on the bench. Latson had picked up her second foul early in the second quarter and sat out for the bulk of the period. FSU often started its offense by passing from the top of the key to a player who was positioned on the free-throw line. O’Mariah Gordon made the mid-range shot after receiving a pass at that spot. Other times, the Seminoles would kick out the ball to the perimeter, where they went 5-of-8 in the first half.

But Syracuse trickled back once more. Saniaa Wilson worked inside on the post before scoring with the right hand. Wilson made a similar play in the third, but used her left hand. Then, Rice secured the rebound off a Hyman missed elbow jumper. Rice scored the putback layup. The Orange had 12 offensive rebounds in the period, including one possession where three Syracuse players missed putback layups in a span of five seconds. Those 12 boards on the offensive glass led to seven second-chance points as the Orange outrebounded the Seminoles by 10 in the first half. Rice notched a career-high 17 rebounds, with 12 in just the first half alone.

In the first half, the Seminoles had five different players with at least six players, with three tied at seven points for the most in the half. Fair led the way for the Orange with eight, finishing with 19, as FSU held a 40-33 lead entering the second half.

At times in the third quarter, play was sloppy. Florida State got a fast-break layup, but Fair hustled back and disrupted the shot. Hyman held her hands straight up and the Seminoles couldn’t score that put back. Then, Fair made an off-balanced elbow shot, similar to where Rice hit another jumper in the period.

Later, Woolley drove down the lane, scoring an underhand layup with her left hand. Kennedi Perkins penetrated a couple of times in the period to score some free throws that helped the Orange close the gap against the Seminoles. Fair missed the last layup of the period as Syracuse trailed 57-54 at the end of the third quarter.

The Seminoles extended the lead to seven early in the fourth quarter, but the Orange fought back. Fair went on a personal 5-0 run to cut the FSU lead to 67-65. She drained a baseline jumper, then hit a 3 over a double team at the right wing. On an earlier play, she matched up Latson one-on-one and hit a heavily contested floater.

Florida State would go on a short 4-0 run as Wilson missed a shot in the post, while Latson added another deep 2-pointer. After a media timeout, Syracuse started to rush shots, including a jumper by Fair that was short and Woolley’s mid-range that hit nothing but the backboard. Syracuse fell out of the game in the final few minutes, a potential blow to its NCAA Tournament aspirations.

Published on February 16, 2023 at 8:12 pm

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