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Syracuse won its second game in a row to start the season, this time dispatching Central Connecticut. A slow start plagued the Orange against Lafayette, but this time SU came out strong, led by a monster performance from point guard Dyaisha Fair. The graduate student finished with 28 on 10-for-17 shooting.

Fair scored over half of Syracuse’s points in the first quarter as it led by 11. Another strong quarter from SU had the Orange up 48-27 at halftime. SU continued its strong performance in the third quarter, allowing its starters to get rest in the fourth. The Orange hit seven 3-pointers and five players finished in double figures on their way to a victory.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 101-53 win over Central Connecticut (0-2, 0-0 Northeast Conference):

Burrows bounces back

After knocking down six 3-pointers against The College of Saint Rose in Syracuse’s exhibition game, Syracuse freshman Sophie Burrows had a tough time getting going against Lafayette. A 4-for-13 shooting performance and 10 points left a lot to be desired.

In her second game, Burrows looked more comfortable. After Syracuse missed its opening three shots, Burrows got the Orange on the board. Alaina Rice looked for options along the right wing, finding Burrows at the top of the key. The freshman unleashed a 3, which banked home.

Burrows’ next shot wasn’t as pure, getting open along the left side. She rushed her shot and air-balled. A couple of possessions later, she calmed down. Once again along the right side, Burrows received the ball. With a defender closing out, Burrows got her in the air with a pump fake and drained an easy mid-range jumper to give her a quick five points.

Burrows started the second half like she did the first. The guard posted up her defender inside, before spinning off her and fighting through contact to finish with her left hand, putting SU up 56-29.

In the fourth quarter, Burrows showed her ability to beat players off the dribble. From the right wing, Burrows used a left-handed dribble with the defender on her hip. A couple of minutes later, Burrows beat everyone down the floor before converting through contact to give her 11 points.

She’s not Fair

By Fair’s standards, her opening performance against Lafayette was mild. She finished with 17 points on an off shooting night. Fair’s evening against the Blue Devils was anything but. After a sluggish start, Fair asserted her dominance.

Her first points of the night came easy on a breakaway layup after a CCSU turnover. After a couple of missed jumpers, Fair did much of her damage off the dribble. Controlling the ball on the left wing, Fair easily skipped by her defender, converting an uncontested layup in the lane. A couple of possessions later, Fair repeated the action, this time from the opposite side.

With Syracuse leading 20-15, Fair pump faked a 3 from the left wing, accelerating inside before getting hacked, and heading to the free-throw line. Fair drilled both free throws.

Fair capped off her explosive first quarter with a 3-pointer from the wing. Alyssa Latham controlled a rebound finding Lexi McNabb ahead who dished to a wide-open Fair. The 3-pointer gave Fair 14 points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the point guard attacked from beyond the arc. Latham missed two free throws in a row, but Izabel Varejão pulled in an offensive board. Fair found herself wide open before canning her fourth 3-pointer of the first half to put SU up 44-25. A minute later, Rice jumped into the passing lane for an easy steal. With Fair ahead of her, Rice dished off to her, for her easiest points of the night capping off a 22-point half.

Defensive holes

Central Connecticut is far from an offensive juggernaut. The Blue Devils scored just 35 points in their opening game against Manhattan. They almost equaled that total at halftime in their matchup with the Orange with 27.

Whether it was letting up easy dribble penetration or leaving shooters open for 3s, Syracuse’s defense was sloppy. Central Connecticut’s first points of the game came off a wide-open 3-pointer the wing by Meghan Kenefick, the first of five treys for CCSU in the first half.

Kenefick easily backed down Latham in the post. With help defense coming from the wing, she found Belle Lanpher open on the wing, before draining a 3-pointer to cut Syracuse’s lead to 16-13. The Blue Devils finished 5-for-7 from deep in the first half.

CCSU’s hot shooting caused Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack to move to a 2-3 zone on the final couple of possessions of the half. Despite the zone, CCSU still easily got into the middle of the floor. Samora Watson found a soft spot, putting up a floater to close out the half for the Blue Devils.

After a sloppy first half, the Orange tightened up the screws defensively, holding CCSU to just eight points in the fourth quarter.

Syracuse’s size

If anything stuck out on paper between these teams it was Syracuse’s size advantage. With Latham and Varejão as the starting front-court duo, it gave the Orange an instant height advantage. Both players were taller than anyone on Central Connecticut’s roster. The Blue Devils started four guards and one big stood at 6-feet tall.

Outside of Fair, SU’s front did most of the damage on offense. Varejão, Latham and Kyra Wood combined for 32 points. In the third quarter, Latham established post position deep in the paint. She locked eyes with Fair as the point guard floated a ball over Watson. Latham rotated her body to seal off the defender, before catching and finishing a layup.

Two minutes later, Fair once again fed a post player, this time it was Wood. The forward took a strong dribble and got around her defender before finishing inside for her ninth point off the bench.

Saniaa Wilson got in on the action in the fourth quarter. Burrows pump faked getting her defender to jump but missed a bank shot. Wilson was there to clean up on the weak side for an easy layup.

A couple possessions later, Wilson was fouled after three straight offensive rebounds. Burrows grabbed Wilson’s second free-throw miss as Wilson cut down the lane. Burrows found her and finished inside for her seventh point of the game.

Published on November 10, 2023 at 9:17 pm

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