Duke snaps Syracuse’s five-game win streak at the Dome

No. 17 Syracuse women’s basketball lost 45-58 to Duke on Thursday night, its second loss at home all season.

All-around scoring from the Blue Devils stunned an uncharacteristically toothless Orange attack, which ended the game with its lowest points total of the season.

Coming off back-to-back losses against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, Duke took its fourth win in a row over the Orange. Kennedy Brown’s 12 points, Reigan Richardson’s 11 and a pair of 8-point performances from Ashlon Jackson and Taina Mair displayed the visitor’s team-wide scoring.

The Orange, on the other hand, struggled to find points from players other than graduate guard Dyaisha Fair and junior guard Georgia Woolley, and only led for 13 seconds in the game. Fair went for 22 points, Woolley for 11.

Syracuse was also out-rebounded 52-25 by a Duke team whose full-court press kept the Orange from putting together much consistent scoring.

Photo by Chelsea Reeves

Taina Mair led Duke in assists at Thursday’s game in the Dome.

“When you get beat 52 to 25 on rebounds, the fight wasn’t where it needed to be,” said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. “I take full responsibility for that, and we will get better.”

Neither team found consistent shooting in the first quarter, though Duke took a narrow lead into the second.

Syracuse found itself scoreless and down four after almost three minutes played, until the team fired two quick counterattacks, finished off by freshman forward Alyssa Latham and Fair. 

After exchanging baskets, Woolley sunk a three with just under two minutes left to give SU its only lead of the game, but free throws and a basket from Mair gave Duke an 11-14 lead at the end of the quarter.

Duke caught fire in the second through an 11-point unanswered run that left the Orange in a precarious position at halftime.

A Richardson and-one jumper saw Duke hit 30 points with over a minute to go in the first half, doubling the Orange’s 15, and the away side took a dominant 17-35 lead at the half. 

The Orange let the game slip away in the second quarter, allowing 21 points while only putting up six. Syracuse went scoreless from the three-point line and 20% from the field, compared to Duke’s 45% scoring from the field. At the half, three Duke players either matched or surpassed Fair’s team-high six points.

“In order to leave a legacy, you got to be so involved in your moment that you don’t let fear choke you,” Legette-Jack said. “I just thought that they played a little good defense in the first half and we got choked.”

Photo by Chelsea Reeves

Fans cheer on the Orange during the Duke game on Thursday.

Duke started the second half right where it left off at the end of the first. Brown snatched the ball from Woolley and put away a layup to give the visitors a 20-point lead.

Fair almost singlehandedly gave the Orange a lifeline, scoring seven points early in the second half to stay in the game. A strong Syracuse run, topped off by two Woolley free throws, reduced Duke’s lead to 11 points.

The Orange entered the third quarter with an intensity it lacked in the second, but the Blue Devils remained comfortably ahead.

Despite outscoring Duke 14-12 in the third quarter, Syracuse was right where it was at the end of the first half: down 18 points. 

Coach Legette-Jack said she was “embarrassed” by her team’s lack of aggression to get rebounds and stay in the game, despite “a little bit of a fight in the third quarter.”

Although the team showed signs of life in the third quarter, an Orange comeback never materialized in the fourth.

The Orange ended the night having shot 25% from the field and 18% from three, an atypically poor night for the team.

Syracuse next play on Sunday against the visiting Pittsburgh Panthers. The senior day match is the team’s last home game of the regular season.

“I love my players, my student-athletes, my daughters. To see them have one last (home) game on Sunday, it’s going to bother us a little bit because we care about them,” Legette-Jack said. “But we also know we need to get this taste out of our mouth — we’re gonna have to do some fun things on the basketball court.”

Tip-off is at 2 p.m.