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Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack thought Dyaisha Fair’s performance was “average.”

But Fair finished with a season-high 27 points, shooting 10-of-24 from the field to help get Syracuse a season-high 93 points. The first 12 of Fair’s points were SU’s first 12 points, too.

In the middle of the second quarter, Dyaisha Fair passed to Teisha Hyman. As Hyman dribbled back toward the wing, she kicked back out to an open Fair in the corner, who drained the corner 3. The bucket put Syracuse up 42-41 — SU’s first lead of the night.

The 3-pointer came in the middle of a big second-quarter run to close the first half that put the Orange in front after they trailed for the first 15 minutes of the game. Syracuse (7-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) defeated Coppin State (2-8, 0-0 Mid-Eastern) 93-75 to stay undefeated at home. The Eagles stayed in the game for a while but slowed down in the fourth quarter.

“I’m not just a scorer, and that’s what my mentality is,” Fair said. “If I can get going and (Hyman) can at the same time, why not go to her?”

Coppin State managed to hold onto the lead for its first 41 points of the game. It started by jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead after two 3-pointers from Mossi Staples, one from each corner. After another Staples 3 — she finished with 21 points — Coppin State recorded 27 points in the first period. The Eagles entered Thursday averaging 54.7 points per game, which ranked 299th in the country, per Her Hoop Stats. SU went back-and-forth with Coppin State and trailed by just four by the end of the first quarter after being behind by as many as eight.

Coming off the bench, Asia Strong used her size inside to score several points in the paint, totaling 16 on 60% from the floor. In the third quarter, Strong missed her initial jumper from close-range, but grabbed her own rebound and went straight up for an easy bucket. She was awarded the team’s hardhat for her “strong force in the paint,” Legette-Jack said.

Early on, it seemed whenever Syracuse scored, Coppin State responded. Legette-Jack and Fair agreed that the Orange started slow, trailing 10-2 in the first quarter at one point. After Georgia Woolley drained a 3-pointer from the corner, Jalynda Salley countered with a bucket inside the paint to extend the lead to 35-30. On the next scoring play, Coppin State’s Jewel Watkins missed her initial layup, but grabbed her own rebound and converted on the second-chance opportunity. Through three quarters, both teams were shooting about 50% from the field, though the Eagles’ percentage fell to 42% by the end of the game.

Eventually, the Orange developed a 51-45 halftime lead. On one basket, following a Hyman two-pointer, Saniaa Wilson passed to a cutting Cheyenne McEvans. McEvans was swarmed by a couple of Eagle defenders before she found an open Dariauna Lewis for a baseline jumper from midrange.

“I think Cheyenne McEvans really played well for us today defensively,” Legette-Jack said. “I thought she took the open shots. She managed their offense angle-wise.”

In Syracuse’s game against Yale last Sunday, the Orange saw minimal production from their bench, scoring just eight points combined with Saniaa Wilson’s four points being the most from the bench. But on Thursday, SU’s bench scored 31 points.

On another play, Fair went coast-to-coast, capitalizing on a Colleen Bucknor turnover. But instead of scoring, she dished it inside to Hyman, who scored an easy 2. For Coppin State, Staples and Watkins combined for 29 of CSU’s 45 first-half points, but Watkins picked up her third personal foul late in the second quarter to keep her out of the starting lineup to begin the second half.

Coppin State made a couple of buckets early in the third, cutting into the Syracuse deficit, but the Orange countered with a run that included a steal and drive down the lane by Woolley and a Hyman 3-pointer to help extend SU’s lead to 66-57.

The Eagles entered the matchup with just two players — Watkins and Staples — averaging double-digit points. Tonight, Coppin State had four players in double figures, though Watkins and Staples still led the way.

Hyman, who finished with 20 points, secured the Orange’s first double-digit lead of the evening. She received the ball at the top of the key, pump-faked and forced her defenders to jump. Taking one dribble to the right, Hyman pulled up and drained the jumper. But the Eagles ended the third quarter on a 6-2 run entering the final frame as Staples converted as the buzzer sounded.

In the fourth quarter, Syracuse slowly started to pull away from Coppin State, getting a quick bucket from Woolley, who scored a putback after Strong missed a 3. Fair also added another basket as she finished with 27 points on the evening. Fair has yet to have a game where she has not scored double-digits.

Watkins added her second 3 in the fourth quarter to make it an eight-point game, but shortly after, she picked up her fourth foul. After Strong scored another bucket inside to cap off a 10-0 run, the SU lead extended to 87-71, forcing CSU to call timeout.

“We are still trying to find our way,” Legette-Jack said. “Our latter days are gonna be our better days.”

Published on December 8, 2022 at 9:35 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini