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Dariauna Lewis was frustrated when she didn’t grab another rebound right before she was subbed off the court in the first half. The ball went out of bounds.

But that wasn’t because Syracuse was losing or the game wasn’t going her way, it was because it would’ve been another second-chance opportunity for Syracuse.

Lewis’ 13 points and 12 rebounds — six offensive and six defensive — contributed to an easy 83-53 victory over Wagner (4-5, 0-0 Northeastern), where Syracuse (8-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) used 20 second-chance points and a positive 33 rebounding margin to defeat the Seahawks. SU earned its seventh victory in the JMA Wireless Dome, where it is still undefeated this season.

“There’s so much she can bring to the table,” head coach Legette-Jack said.

Much of Syracuse’s scoring on Sunday came from inside the paint — 52 of 83 to be exact. Lewis’ size outmatched that of Wagner’s frontcourt. Toward the end of the first quarter, Lewis had a solo 4-0 run, simply as a result of putbacks from offensive rebounds. The two baskets were basically identical.

Teisha Hyman secured a rebound and just as she and Dyaisha Fair have done all season, Hyman went coast-to-coast. She dribbled behind her back, splitting multiple Wagner defenders before driving into the lane where her layup missed. But Lewis grabbed the rebound and put it back in off the glass. On SU’s next basket, Hyman missed another layup, but Lewis secured the putback to give Syracuse a 25-10 advantage, contributing to a much stronger start that’s been lacking in recent games.

“I was thinking like Coach Jack,” Lewis said. “She always saying ‘keep your feet moving, keep your feet moving.’ So I was just hopping around, hopping around.”

Sunday’s performance against Wagner marked her first double-double since opening up the season with three-straight against Stony Brook, Colgate and Binghamton. She also notched double-digit rebounds against Purdue and Coppin State. For her contributions against the Seahawks, she earned the team’s hard hat.

To mitigate the easy buckets for Syracuse, Wagner needed to foul. After Dyaisha Fair missed a stepback 3, Lewis hauled in the board and drew a foul on her putback attempt. She went 1-of-2 on the line then, but after Asia Strong missed a shot on the next SU possession, Lewis was fouled on the rebound, making both free throws this time.

Lewis transferred from Alabama A&M, where a season ago, she was second in the country in rebounds per game. Currently, she’s tied for 22nd in rebounds per game with 10.2. Lewis said that head coach Felisha Legette-Jack describes rebounding as the “drug” to the team and against higher-quality ACC opponents, it won’t get much easier. Legette-Jack even compared her to Dennis Rodman.

To score her 11th point of the game, Georgia Woolley drove into the lane and heaved a low-percentage shot as the shot clock expired. It missed, but Lewis was there to muscle the ball away in a cluster of defenders and immediately go up and score the layup.

“I know that when I am there for a rebound, it gives (my teammates) confidence to go like ‘oh, I’m gonna keep shooting because I know somebody gonna rebound,’” Lewis said.

Lewis constantly positioned herself within the paint right when shots got up. Her physicality and size was too much for the Seahawks to match. Lewis only played 20 minutes on Sunday since the starters did not play as much in the second half.

When Syracuse extended its lead to 31-14 early in the second quarter, Dyaisha Fair had dribbled just inside the 3-point line. She continued but her angle to the basket was cut off by defenders, so she kicked it out to Nyah Wilson who was open for a baseline jumper. Nyah missed, but Lewis was in a great position to score the putback.

She didn’t just contribute through rebounding and scoring. Lewis also notched a couple of assists that helped extend the lead. In the third quarter, Lewis was positioned on the right side of the court. Asia Strong made a cutting run down the right side of the lane. Lewis passed the ball and watched Strong make another basket inside the paint. On a fast break, Hyman dribbled down the left and found Lewis on the baseline where she connected with Strong cutting down the middle for another easy layup.

“She has the entire package,” Legette-Jack said.

Published on December 11, 2022 at 5:51 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini