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Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack was fiery following her team’s loss to UAlbany Wednesday. Legette-Jack went on an impassioned two-minute-plus rant. She was blunt. Legette-Jack said the better team didn’t win, but the more prepared team did.

Furthermore, Legette-Jack voiced her frustration with the lack of care from the community surrounding SU’s women’s basketball program. She pointed out the low attendance at the JMA Wireless Dome.

“We’ve got to decide that we’re going to hunker down and turn the noise out from all the people on the outside and lock into the inside and get real with each other,” Legette-Jack said.

The Orange let a double-digit first-quarter lead slip before halftime and trailed by as much as eight in the third quarter. Georgia Woolley scored 23 points and was crucial to SU battling late in the contest. But UAlbany’s (4-0, 0-0 America East) Lilly Phillips nailed a 3-pointer with just three seconds left to hand Syracuse (2-3, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) a 73-70 loss. Kayla Cooper led the Great Danes with 21 points as SU suffered its third home loss of the season.

SU’s offense got out to a slow start, but its defense stalled UAlbany. The Orange kept the Great Danes off the board in each of their first two possessions, and Izabel Varejão opened the scoring with a turnaround jumper on the left block.

UAlbany matched with a layup at the other end, but Syracuse took back the lead two minutes later as Woolley netted a pair of free throws. Once ahead 4-2, SU’s offense took off.

Sophie Burrows nailed a jumper, and Varejão got her hand in the passing lane for SU’s second caused turnover at the 5:20 mark. The steal powered Syracuse to add to its tally as Woolley converted a tough shot through contact to push SU’s lead to 9-3.

Off the bench, Journey Thompson entered the game and blocked a layup by Phillips. In back-to-back possessions, Burrows hit a corner 3, and Woolley made a turnaround shot to push Syracuse out to a 14-5 advantage.

With under four minutes remaining in the opening quarter, Dominique Camp made a difference with her defense, collecting a steal. She helped SU capitalize on the ensuing possession, finding Woolley for 3 at the 3:23 minute mark, pushing Woolley’s point total into double figures.

Thompson also benefited from a Camp dish at the 2:30 mark of the first quarter, converting a layup. Then, Thompson wreaked havoc, denying a pass from Laycee Drake to get the ball back for SU.

After scoring 10 early points, Woolley was subbed out with 2:10 left in the first quarter. However, SU maintained a 21-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter due to its defense.

In the second quarter, Syracuse lost its rhythm. With Woolley, Camp and Varejão all sitting, the Great Danes opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run. SU then returned to its full starting five but still couldn’t slow down UAlbany.

Kaci Donovan and Cooper each converted jumpers to pull within a point of Syracuse. Meanwhile, SU was out of sorts on the offensive end, as it turned the ball over on two of its next four possessions, finding itself with just a one-point lead.

“When we go on a run, that doesn’t mean that we’ve won the game in the first quarter,” Woolley said. “We have to continue to put our foot on the pedal every single possession … And I don’t think we had that intensity.”

After a nearly six-minute scoring drought, Syracuse ended the run with under four minutes in the second quarter. Olivia Schmitt surveyed the defense and rubbed off a screen before driving and dishing to Thompson inside.

With the game tied 27-27, Schmitt helped SU take a 31-30 lead into halftime. At the 1:59 mark, she stole an inbounds pass and finished a layup at the other end. Then, she found Varejão inside for a layup.

Midway through the third quarter, the Great Danes started a 3-point barrage behind hot shooting from Donovan and Phillips. Their perimeter accuracy lifted UAlbany to a 42-38 lead.

SU responded by going to Varejão in the low post. She reached eight points midway through the quarter. But UAlbany continued to sting Syracuse on the perimeter, netting four shots from long range in the third.

At the 1:20 mark of the third, Woolley hit a 3 from the top of the arc. It sparked an 8-0 run for SU, as Woolley converted her second and-one of the game on the next possession. Then, Camp notched a steal, and Varejão finished a fast break layup, bringing Syracuse to a 53-51 deficit at the end of the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, SU took a 54-53 lead on a Burrows 3, its first advantage since the second quarter. At the eight-minute mark of the frame, Woolley dribbled up the court and took advantage of space in front to nail a 3 from the top of the arc. Woolley then used her vision to find Varejão on the low block for a layup to put SU ahead 61-59.

Down the stretch, the Great Danes were finding success down low, an area that Legette-jack said the Orange were “out-toughed.” But following a layup by Cooper, Schmitt found Kyra Wood on the other end to get SU back the lead at the 1:50 mark of the fourth quarter.

Then the SU offense started to slow down. In the final minutes, Schmitt threw the ball into the hands of UAlbany and Woolley was called for an offensive foul.

With just three seconds left, Phillips’ 3-pointer lifted UAlbany ahead 73-70 and Burrows’ late heave was off the mark, handing SU its third loss of the season.

“We’re going to learn from this,” Woolley said. “We’ve really got to come together as a team and as a family and be Syracuse University women’s basketball again.”

Published on November 20, 2024 at 9:35 pm

Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32