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So far this season, Syracuse’s peak was on Dec. 31 when it beat then-No. 13 Notre Dame 86-81. In that following week’s AP Poll, the Orange were ranked 25, its first ranking under second-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. But reality seemed to come crashing down on Jan. 4 after North Carolina bludgeoned SU 75-51.

The Orange were removed from the next week’s AP Poll, but they responded with bounce-back wins over Boston College and Wake Forest. Then came Jan. 14 against Clemson. SU trailed by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, but spearheaded by Dyaisha Fair, who reached the prestigious 3,000-point mark, the Orange completed their largest comeback of the Legette-Jack era.

Four days later against then-No. 15 Florida State, the Orange found themselves in a similar third-quarter position. They trailed by as many as 18, but with a new-look lineup down the stretch, Syracuse pulled out its second consecutive come-from-behind win. When SU handily defeated Pittsburgh three days later on Jan. 21, it cemented them as the No. 22 in this week’s AP Poll, their highest ranking under Legette-Jack.

Then came Notre Dame again. This time in South Bend, where the Orange had never beaten the Fighting Irish before. But Thursday was different. Again using a dominant fourth quarter, Syracuse prevailed to a 79-65 win, its third consecutive win against a ranked team. But the Orange faced a quick turnaround, facing No. 19 Virginia Tech on Sunday.

After losing back-to-back games to then-No. 21 Florida State and Duke, the Hokies responded with home wins against Clemson and Georgia Tech before heading to the JMA Wireless Dome. Throughout the game, the Hokies dominated. The Orange attempted to overcome another fourth-quarter deficit, but their effort fell short against VT.

Here are some observations from No. 22 Syracuse’s (17-3, 7-2 ACC) 75-62 loss against No. 19 Virginia Tech (16-4, 7-2 ACC):

Georgia Amoore dominates

Across her first three seasons with the Hokies, Georgia Amoore was a steady offensive contributor with her scoring and passing prowess. But as a senior, she has taken her game to the next level averaging career-highs with 16.8 points and 7.3 assists per game (which leads the ACC).

Despite her dominant season, Amoore is shooting a career-low 32.2% on 3s. But against the Orange, she was lights out. After the Hokies were scoreless for the first 2:20 of the game, Amoore nailed a 3 from the right wing for the team’s first points of the game. Then, after picking Georgia Woolley’s pocket on the defensive end, she scored an easy fastbreak layup. Throughout the first, VT ran its offense through Amoore, who scored its first 11 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from 3. But Amoore picked up her second personal foul with just over a minute remaining in the first, retreating to the bench for almost the entirety of the 11 remaining first-half minutes. In that time, SU cut down its 12-point deficit to just four.

In the third quarter, after Woolley missed the free throw on an and-one, Amoore got the ball down the court and dished to Matilda Ekh, who drained a jumper for a pivotal three-point swing. Then Amoore got hers. On back-to-back possessions, she carved SU inside the key to give her a then-game-high 19 points.

3-pointers prove to be the difference

Entering Sunday’s contest, Syracuse and Virginia Tech respectively ranked 25th and 26th in points per game among Division I teams, according to HerHoopStats. But one key difference in the way the teams score is their 3-point shooting. VT scored 35.3% of its points from 3, the 33rd highest in D-I, while Syracuse’s 27.8% was 170th. Additionally, the Hokies are much more efficient from 3, as their 36.8% 3-point percentage ranked 21st, while the Orange’s 32.9% was 105th.

The 3-point discrepancy was on full display Sunday. After Amoore scored or assisted on four 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Hokies continued their dominance from behind the arc, starting the game 8-for-11 from deep. But the Hokies missed their last three 3s of the first half while Fair and Woolley combined for three 3s for SU, helping them cut their deficit to a two-possession game entering halftime.

VT was held scoreless for more than four minutes to begin the third quarter, but a 3-pointer from Ekh kickstarted the scoring for the Hokies, who outscored the Orange 19-15 in the period. Three minutes after Ekh’s triple, Amoore drove the lane before dishing to Elizabeth Kitley. The Orange doubled team Kitley, which left Olivia Summiel wide open in the corner. She drained the opportunity.

With the Orange trailing by seven midway through the fourth, Fair tried to cut VT’s lead down to two possessions, but her 3 missed off the back iron for SU’s 14th 3-point miss of the game. Later in the quarter with SU trailing by five, Amoore found Cayla King in the corner, who buried the shot and all hope of SU making a comeback. The Orange shot just 5-for-22 from 3 while the Hokies were 12-for-29.

Elizabeth Kitley stifled by SU

Kitley is the reigning two-time ACC Player of the Year, and she’s amidst a season worthy of earning the honor for a third straight season. Averaging 22.7 points per game, Kitley scores the second-most points per game in the ACC while shooting over 55% from the field.

But the Orange didn’t let Kitley beat them. Kitley took the Hokies’ first three shots of the game, missing all three. On her first shot, Kitley tried backing down Kyra Wood, but the junior played stout defense, forcing an errant miss. But on her next two shots, SU forced Kitley to settle for jumpers near the free throw, not allowing her to get inside — which continued throughout the game.

Kitley finally got a layup to drop with 14 seconds remaining in the first quarter, giving Virginia Tech its largest lead of the game. It was her only make of the first half, missing her other 10 shots.

The Orange’s defensive pressure forced Kitley to not attempt a shot in the third quarter, but she scored an easy driving layup for VT’s first points of the fourth. But when Kitley committed her fourth foul, 1:19 into the frame, she headed to the bench. Kitley returned with three minutes remaining, and her interior defensive presence and rebounding (nine throughout the game) helped put Syracuse away.

The Orange’s comeback effort falls short

The fourth quarter is a period Syracuse has dominated throughout its winning streak. With miraculous comebacks against Clemson and Florida State and showcasing their ability to close out games out against Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, the Orange had done it all. But they needed to do it again.

Trailing by eight at the start of the fourth, Syracuse cut its deficit in half after Fair converted on an and-one and Saniaa Wilson drained a pair of free throws. But VT did what it does best to respond: shoot. King drained her second 3 of the night, helping the Hokies regain an eight-point lead.

Wood then converted on an and-one to cut VT’s lead down to five and the Orange forced Amoore into consecutive wild shot attempts, but they couldn’t score offensively. After King drilled her third 3, the Hokies commanded an eight-point lead that it didn’t relinquish. Fair canned a triple to cut the Hokies’ lead to seven with under two minutes remaining, but Amoore responded with a floater on the other end, putting the game away.

Published on January 28, 2024 at 2:17 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon