Cuse women’s basketball set to face Stony Brook in Monday season opener

Cuse women’s basketball set to face Stony Brook in Monday season opener

Syracuse WBB preview: Fresh start aligns with new coach and transfer-heavy roster.
Published: November 6, 2022
Freshman guard, Lexi McNabb, tries to steal the ball from Kennedi Perkins during the women's basketball scrimmage, at the Orange Tip Off fan event. Photo by Ryan Brady. 10/14/22
Freshman guard Lexi McNabb tries to steal the ball from Kennedi Perkins during the women's basketball scrimmage at the Orange Tip-off event on October 14, 2022.

PUMPED.

That’s how first-year Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack feels about the upcoming women’s basketball season. 

The Orange are starting their season by hosting Stony Brook on Monday at 3:30 p.m.

Coach Legette-Jack, who previously coached at University at Buffalo, brought along four players from Buffalo to Syracuse, including guards Dyaisha FairGeorgia Woolley, Cheyenne McEvans and forward Saniaa Wilson.

“[The Buffalo transfers] are good enough to play on this level,” Coach Legette-Jack said.

On top of four transfer players from Buffalo, this 2022-2023 basketball squad is comprised of four additional transfer student-athletes and two freshmen.

Although this team is young and new, the fresh start may help Syracuse get back on its feet after having a losing season last year, winning just four of 14 conference games and losing in the first round of the ACC tournament. 

Coach Legette-Jack is set on enjoying and trusting the process as well as having a whole lot of fun.

Freshman guard, Kennedi Perkins, rises up for a short range shot during the women's basketball scrimmage, at the Orange Tip Off fan event. Photo by Ryan Brady. 10/14/22
Freshman guard Kennedi Perkins rises up for a short range shot during the women's basketball scrimmage at the Orange Tip-off event on October 14, 2022.

Cuse Captains are crushing

Senior Dyaisha Fair, redshirt junior Teisha Hyman and sophomore Kyra Wood lead the Syracuse team this season as captains.

At Buffalo, Fair made her presence known on the court. She earned MAC Freshman of the Year with 26 starts, fourth in scoring (22.0 ppg) in the nation and third in final points (660). Fair started every game in her sophomore year and won First Team All-MAC. 

Fair completely dominated in her Syracuse debut against Le Moyne. She led the Syracuse Orange in both points (19) and assists (8) in their exhibition win against Le Moyne on Thursday 73-70. Nine of those points came from three-pointers. 

“Her [Fair’s] move is her story,” Coach Legette-Jack said. “Her story is different from everybody.”

Hyman’s successes at Syracuse are plentiful. After sitting out her sophomore season due to an injury, Hyman returned with a vengeance in the 2021-2022 season. 

She started all 29 games and led the team in four big categories – scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

“Last year was a good start, but there’s always more to it,” Hyman said. “Not settling for anything less than last year.”

Hyman played a solid game on both ends of the court against Le Moyne. She recorded one block, led the Orange in steals with two and scored 12 points. 

“Individually, I want to increase on every statistical category there is,” Hyman said.

Wood played at Temple for her freshman year before coming to Syracuse. She recorded the second most blocks on the Owls team with 29. 

In the game against Le Moyne, Wood tallied just five points and one assist. However, Wood utilized her 6’3” height and was dominant under the hoop, grabbing nine rebounds in 14 minutes of play.

Freshman duo takes on Syracuse

Freshman guards Kennedi Perkins and Lexi McNabb are adapting well to their first season and new team.

“Me and Kennedi have been working well together, side-by-side when it’s got to be us two against Teisha [Hyman] and D [Dyaisha Fair],” McNabb said.

McNabb is the daughter of Donovan and Raquel (Nurse) McNabb. Donovan played quarterback for the Syracuse football team and basketball under head coach Jim Boeheim. Raquel also played basketball at Syracuse; her assistant coach was Coach Legette-Jack.

Lexi McNabb originally committed to Buffalo under Coach Legette-Jack, but ultimately signed with Syracuse.

Despite her parents’ successes at Syracuse, McNabb wants to make a name for herself.

“I’m still trying to play my game, work on my game,” McNabb said. “It’s me, not them.”

McNabb picked up one block in her five minutes of playing time.

Perkins played 17 minutes in the Le Moyne game with most notably five assists and three rebounds. 

She knows playing in the ACC conference will be difficult, but she’s looking forward to what’s to come.

“The ACC is definitely a competitive conference,” Perkins said. “But, I’m just going to be me, use my toughness and basketball IQ to help the team as much as possible.”

Stony Brook looks to compete

The Seawolves haven’t had a losing season for the past five years. Last year, they were 23-6 but were taken out early in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament with a first-round loss to Virginia Commonwealth.

Stony Brook beat Adelphi 73-56 in its lone exhibition game on Thursday. 

However, the last four times Stony Brook has faced Syracuse, the Orange have been victorious. This matchup will be a must-watch game with two competitive teams.