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SU entered its West Coast road trip on a two-game winning streak but returned with two straight losses.

In its first matchup on the West Coast, Syracuse trailed by 15 points at halftime and fell 79-58 to Stanford. Three days later against Cal, the Orange stuck with the Golden Bears until the final minutes before losing by six.

In its return to the JMA Wireless Dome, SU’s 11 first-half turnovers led it to trail by 10 at halftime. The Orange made six 3s in the third but didn’t make any in the fourth quarter as they were unable to form a comeback against the red-hot Tar Heels, who entered on a five-game winning streak.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (10-16, 4-11 Atlantic Coast) 68-58 loss to No. 9 North Carolina (24-4, 12-3 Atlantic Coast):

Point guards struggle early

Syracuse differed from its normal strategy at point guard in its last game. Against Cal, Dominique Camp started, but the Orange leaned on Olivia Schmitt down the stretch.

Schmitt contributed to SU’s strong bench effort against the Golden Bears. In a career-high 26 minutes, she distributed four assists compared to Camp’s zero assists in 13 minutes.

However, Camp started against No. 9 UNC and helped the Orange trail by just two after about six minutes. In that span, she registered one assist, finding Shy Hawkins for a basket on the baseline.

At the 3:05 mark of the first quarter, Schmitt checked into the game. In about six minutes of play, Schmitt didn’t record an assist or score. Then, Angelica Velez checked in, and things started unraveling for the Orange.

The Tar Heels went on an 11-6 run midway through the second quarter, and SU turned back to Camp. Though she wasn’t able to right the ship. SU went to halftime down by 10, and Camp was its only point guard to record an assist.

UNC defense prevails

Through 10 minutes, Syracuse trailed North Carolina 15-12. Both teams shot under 43% from the field and combined for nine turnovers. It marked SU’s lowest-scoring first quarter since playing Wake Forest on Feb. 9.

To start the second, Syracuse scored four early points but then fell into an offensive drought. The Orange had turnovers on three straight possessions, leading to easy baskets for the Tar Heels. Georgia Woolley turned the ball over, which led to a 3 on the other end by UNC.

Then Syracuse’s issues grew due to defensive struggles. The Orange let Grace Townsend right down the lane for an easy deuce, stretching the Tar Heels’ lead to 24-19 midway through the second quarter.

With about 30 seconds left in the half, Woolley, who’d been SU’s main scorer in the frame, drove baseline. Looking to cut into its deficit, she was called for stepping out of bounds, handing the ball back to UNC.

SU’s errors put it in a double-digit deficit heading into the second half, and with few corrections in the final 20 minutes, it was unable to climb back.

Lacking secondary scorers

At halftime, Syracuse trailed UNC 35-25 and had just four different scorers. Woolley led SU with 13 points and was its only player with a triple, netting 3-of-4 in the half. Meanwhile, UNC had six different scorers and had three different players hit a 3.

The Orange simply weren’t matching the Tar Heels’ scoring output. And a large part of that was because SU lacked depth in its secondary options. Besides Woolley, only two other SU starters scored in the first 20 minutes.

It wasn’t until about the 7:30 mark of the third quarter that Sophie Burrows scored her first points, coming on a corner 3. About a minute later, Schmitt netted a triple from the left side of the arc, one of three from the freshman in the game.

But at the same time, UNC had built a double-digit lead. By the time SU received scoring from its secondary options, it trailed by 12 points midway through the third quarter. With the Tar Heels’ suffocating defense, the Orange couldn’t cut into the deficit.

SU abandons 3-pointer

Syracuse shot 3-of-7 from 3 in the first half, and it trailed by 10 points at halftime. In the third, it doubled its production from deep. SU made 6-of-8 3s in the frame as Burrows made two and Schmitt hit three.

Syracuse’s success from beyond the arc helped it pull within five points midway through the third, but two triples by UNC and dominance in the paint helped it maintain its 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.

However, by prioritizing its 3-pointer, SU’s post players went cold. Izabel Varejão and Kyra Wood each attempted just one shot in the third, and neither converted.

The Orange turned to scoring inside the arc, but they didn’t find as much success. With 5:46 left in the game, Wood made her first shot since the first half. Varejão played limited minutes in the fourth and was unable to make a mark.

Woolley and Burrows each shot low-percentage shots from close range but missed. UNC grew its lead to 13 points early in the frame. SU tried to crawl back, but a 7-0 run by North Carolina helped it pull away.

Published on February 20, 2025 at 8:12 pm

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