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After defeating Virginia 85-79 on Sunday, Syracuse notched its third winning streak of at least five games this season. Despite a poor shooting performance against Miami in SU’s prior game, star guard Dyaisha Fair tallied a 33-point performance, including key baskets down the stretch to withstand the Cavaliers’ comeback.

But earlier in the game, the Orange dominated from the 3-point line. They shot a season-best 12-for-20 from behind the arc, notching their most 3-point makes and best single-game percentage of the season. Fair led the team with five triples while Georgia Woolley tied her season-high with four.

Following its two-game road trip, Syracuse returned to the JMA Wireless to face Duke on Thursday. The Blue Devils were coming off back-to-back losses to then-No. 12 Feb. 15 and No. 16 Notre Dame Monday. Duke entered its contest against SU allowing 58.2 points per game, the lowest mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Blue Devils’ hounding defense was on full display against SU, as the Orange scored a season-low 45 points.

Here are some observations from No. 17 Syracuse’s (22-5, 12-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) 58-45 loss versus Duke (17-9, 9-6 ACC):

Half-court offensive struggles

From the get-go, the Blue Devils pressured the Orange with a full-court press. Additionally, when SU did get the ball across midcourt, Duke face-guarded Fair off the ball and when she did control the ball, it applied consistent pressure with double teams. This held the Orange’s offense quiet for the first four minutes of the game, as they missed their first four shots and turned the ball over twice.

But the Orange found success when they got out in transition. After Fair notched a steal, she fed Alyssa Latham for SU’s first points of the game and then went coast-to-coast a minute later after pulling down a rebound to bring Duke’s lead to 6-4 at the midway point of the opening quarter. After Fair knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the game, Duke regained an 8-6 lead though Fair again kickstarted SU’s offense by assisting a fastbreak layup for Alaina Rice.

SU’s first points in a half-court set came with just under two minutes in the first quarter when Woolley nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Still, SU’s next points in the half-court didn’t come until three and a half minutes into the second quarter when Saniaa Wilson converted on an and-one. But her missed free throw sustained a 21-13 Duke lead.

From that point, Syracuse was only able to score four more points until halftime, leading to its lowest-scoring half of the season. On their first possession of the second half, Woolley was the ball handler but her pocket was instantly picked, leading to an easy fastbreak score for Duke’s Kennedy Brown. Throughout the second half, Syracuse’s offense was equally inefficient, struggling to do anything in the half-court. The Orange finished with more turnovers (15) than field goals made (14).

Rebounding disparity

Throughout the season, Syracuse has been one of the best rebounding teams in Division I. Entering Thursday’s contest, SU’s 42.2 rebounds per game ranked 16th in D-I and its 16.3 offensive rebounds per game ranked seventh, according to HerHoopStats. The Blue Devils’ 37.5 boards per game ranked 116th in D-1, but they dominated the glass on Thursday.

Much like it established its defensive excellence early on, Duke controlled almost every rebound in the first quarter. Though they only led 14-11 after the first quarter, Duke outrebounded Syracuse 15-5 and 5-2 on offensive boards. While they didn’t capitalize on their rebounding advantage in the first quarter, the Blue Devils cashed in in the second.

In the next period, Duke corralled seven offensive rebounds which turned into 13 second-chance points. With just over one minute until halftime and a 31-13 lead, Jadyn Donovan snagged her fifth offensive and 11th total rebound. With a second chance, Camilla Emsbo bulldozed her way into the lane and converted on an and-one, helping Duke command a 35-17 lead at the half.

The Orange looked much stronger on the glass in the second half, outrebounding the Blue Devils 52-25, but they couldn’t mount a comeback. Six minutes into the third quarter, SU corralled consecutive offensive rebounds to give it three chances to score, yet it missed all three shot attempts. In all facets, the Orange were dominated.

Fairly bad shooting

Coming off one of her best offensive games of the season, Syracuse needed Fair again to shoulder the load against the ACC’s best defense. But Duke wouldn’t let Fair beat them. Whether it was face-guarding her off the ball, double-teaming her as the ball handler or simply refusing Fair to bring the ball up off inbounds passes, the Blue Devils blanketed Fair.

Though when she did get the ball, she wanted to shoot. In the first five minutes of the game, Fair fired three shots off the mark before scoring in transition. From there, she wanted to get going, but after missing her next two shots — including an airball — she was held to just four points after the first quarter. The second quarter proved to be just as difficult, as Fair made a push shot along the baseline but only shot the ball twice due to Duke’s hounding defense.

When Fair struggled against Miami, Syracuse was able to weather the storm on the back of Woolley, but she also struggled to get anything to drop, as she was 1-for-8 at the half with her 3-point make her only points. As seen by its loss against UNC on Jan. 4, when Syracuse’s top two scorers can’t get anything going, neither can the rest of the team.

After Woolley knocked down a pair of free throws, SU notched a defensive stop. Fair tried nailing a stepback 3 that she’s hit countless times this season to cut Syracuse’s deficit under double-digits, but it missed off the back iron and turned into a Duke layup on the other end. Fair tried answering with a layup of her own, but she missed and Brown, who scored a Duke team-high 12 points, knocked down two free throws to give the Blue Devils a 41-26 lead midway through the third.

Over the rest of the game, the Orange notched just 19 points. They shot a season-low 25.0% from the field on 14-for-56 shooting and shot 3-for-16 from 3.

Nonexistent comeback effort

This season, Syracuse has been defined by its comeback wins against Clemson, Florida State and Lousiville. On its two-game road trip against Miami and Virginia, it was propelled by early leads that were never thwarted.

But against Duke, Syracuse only led for 13 seconds. In the third quarter, the Orange cut their deficit to as few as 11, but the Blue Devils regained a 47-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Following a travel from SU guard Kennedi Perkins, Donovan knocked in a layup on the other end. As Syracuse tried to answer that score, Rice coughed the ball up, leading to another Donovan layup that gave the Blue Devils a 51-31 lead.

From there, the Blue Devils hung on to a comfortable lead throughout the fourth quarter, never leading by less than double-digits en route to a 58-45 win.

Published on February 22, 2024 at 9:14 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon