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To start Felisha Legette-Jack’s third season at the helm, it’s been anything but pretty for Syracuse. After posting a convincing win over Fairleigh Dickinson to return to .500, the Orange suffered a back-breaking defeat to UAlbany on Wednesday.

Despite jumping out to a 10-point first-quarter lead, the Orange dropped the ball in the second quarter and limped into halftime up by one. Fast forward to the fourth quarter, the game was tied 70-70 with 11 seconds left. Then, Lilly Phillips drained a 3 from the corner to secure UAlbany’s victory.

Following its crushing loss, SU traveled to the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida, to face Missouri. Syracuse started the game on fire. Despite a close first quarter, it pulled away in the second, leading to a 44-28 halftime lead. Propelled by their bench, the Orange easily came away with the victory. Journey Thompson, Olivia Schmitt and Saniaa Wilson all provided quality minutes.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (3-3, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 82-59 victory over Missouri (5-3, 0-0 Southeastern Conference):

Lineup Swaps

When SU’s starting lineup was submitted, Schmitt’s name stood out. The freshman made her first career start in place of fifth-year senior Dominique Camp.

Camp previously started on the bench versus then-No. 11 Maryland because Legette-Jack said she didn’t practice well leading up to the game. Though against the Terrapins, Angelica Velez started in Camp’s spot. Schmitt played her highest volume of the season against UAlbany, logging four points and three assists in 17 minutes.

To start, Schmitt grabbed a rebound on a Tigers missed 3 and passed it forward to a wide open Georgia Woolley, cutting Missouri’s early lead to 8-5. Schmitt then assisted a Sophie Burrows 3 to tie the game 12-12.

Schmitt was subbed out soon after, though Legette-Jack made more changes to SU’s rotation. Thompson and Wilson, who have played sparingly off the bench this season, entered the game. Thompson provided a spark to SU’s offense, notching 14 points.

Also, Lexi McNabb, who’s only played at the end of the Orange’s blowout wins, entered in the middle of the first quarter. Though McNabb only sank one triple, it showed Legette-Jack was willing to experiment with her reserves, something she hadn’t done in SU’s first five games.

Strong start

Both teams started out the game on fire. Mizzou got out to an early 8-1 lead, backed by five points from its leading scorer, Grace Slaughter. Kyra Wood then converted a layup and Woolley kissed one off the glass after a Schmitt steal. Burrows drilled a 3 to tie the game 12-2 heading into the first media timeout.

Out of the break, both squads exploded again. Abbey Schreacke hit a floater from the charity stripe, then Thompson added a mid-range jumper of her own. Following this sequence, both the Tigers’ Nyah Randall and Wood traded easy layups. Then, Woolley drilled a step-back jumper to tie the score at 18. Thompson responded to a Schreacke field goal, keeping the game tied at 20.

To end the quarter, SU pulled ahead. Burrows canned her second 3 of the game to put Syracuse ahead 23-20. Slaughter and Woolley both added two free throws, putting SU up 27-22 after one.

This was Syracuse’s fourth straight game leading after the first quarter, though it has largely collapsed in the second immediately after. But no second-quarter struggles occurred against the Tigers, however, and Syracuse put the game away before halftime.

SU’s offense dominates in paint

In Syracuse’s last victory over FDU, it dominated in the paint, outscoring the Knights 40-6 under the basket. On Monday, the Tigers were much better offensively, but Syracuse still scored 46 points in the paint throughout the night.

Often, Syracuse dribbled under the rim and though it had plenty of contested shots, sank the majority of them.

In addition, Syracuse added wide-open field goals. First, Schmitt stole the ball and passed it open to Woolley, who easily converted five feet in front of the nearest Missouri player. Later in the second half, Varejão received a pass in the paint, sidestepped a defender and cashed in an easy two points.

SU struggled to end the half, mostly through missed shots off the glass. But it rebounded quickly, with Burrows, Thompson and Wood tacking on with easy layups off the glass.

The Orange continued to dominate the paint in the second half, padding their lead. Burrows and Wilson added three buckets inside in the middle of the third. SU finished with 46 points in the area, a major reason for its blowout win.

Thompson’s breakout

Prior to SU’s bout with the Tigers, Thompson hadn’t played much. She had only logged 10.2 minutes in Syracuse’s first five games, mostly coming off the bench for brief spurts. But against Mizzou, she played 21 minutes and made the most of it.

The Arizona State transfer first got on the board at the five-minute mark of the first quarter, cashing in a layup after a Mizzou turnover. A minute later, she drove into the paint and added another easy 2. Thompson tacked on once more with a minute left in the first quarter, tying the game at 20-20.

Thompson was subbed out to end the quarter, but came back with 7:36 remaining in the second. After Burrows missed a 3 with 4:36 left, Thompson corralled the rebound and added a second-chance shot. She notched two more points to end the quarter, totaling 10 points in 12 minutes at the break.

In the second half, Thompson again started on the bench but immediately forced a Mizzou travel and turnover after entering. With three minutes left in the third, Burrows dished a pass to Thompson under the basket, pushing her to 12 points. With 7:25 remaining, she cashed in with a mid-range jumper, her final points of a breakout game.

Published on November 25, 2024 at 8:08 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu