Legette-Jack calls for toughness after Syracuse’s loss to UNC
Legette-Jack calls for toughness after Syracuse’s loss to UNC
Turnovers and missed layups haunt Orange in a 68-58 home defeat.
The Syracuse women’s basketball team entered Sunday’s matchup against No. 9 North Carolina in a must-win situation. Teetering on the brink of missing the ACC tournament next month, the Orange sat 14th in the conference standings, just one game ahead of 15th place Miami.
Despite the Tar Heels playing without their versatile star forward, Alyssa Ustby, UNC controlled the interior. The Tar Heels outscored the Orange by 20 points in the paint en route to a 68-58 road victory.
Syracuse Struggles Against Physical UNC Defense
“Our whole objective as head coaches is to show our young people that you fear no one. You respect everybody, but you fear no one,” head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “We couldn’t get that out of our system until halftime.”
Legette-Jack emphasized that she would address her team’s apparent fear in practice the following day.
In a media session before the game, Legette-Jack spoke about her team’s struggles with turnovers in critical moments.
Syracuse had 11 first-half turnovers and finished with 19, which surpassed its season average of 16. UNC capitalized on those mistakes, scoring 19 points off SU’s turnovers.
The Orange opened the first quarter with an offensive rebound and putback by Kyra Wood off a missed attempt from Izabel Varejão. Despite accumulating four turnovers by the first media timeout, their high-energy defense kept the game close.
However, immediately after the timeout, UNC executed a half-court play that led to an open three-pointer by Indya Nivar.
After 10 minutes of play, the Tar Heels led 15-12, fitting into Syracuse’s preferred game tempo.
In the second quarter, momentum shifted as the Tar Heels went on a 9-0 run, while Syracuse endured a three-minute scoring drought. UNC extended its lead to 33-22 with under two minutes remaining before a three-pointer by Georgia Woolley ended the dry spell.
Woolley led SU with 13 first-half points, but the Orange still trailed by 10 at halftime.
Both teams started slow early in the third quarter.
After nearly three minutes of SU fans standing and waiting for a score from the home team, the crowd erupted when Varejão found Sophie Burrows for a corner three-pointer to make the score 40-28 in UNC’s favor.
However, three consecutive fouls by the SU frontcourt—two on Saniaa Wilson and one on Varejão—put the Orange in foul trouble, giving UNC an advantage down low.
“We didn’t get the best production from our bigs,” Legette-Jack said. “Saniaa had point-blank layups and went 0-for-6, and I thought Izabel could have had 18 points easily, but we can’t choke ourselves in the middle of the game.”
For unknown reasons, Wood did not play in the third quarter. Legette-Jack previously mentioned that Wood was feeling sore leading up to the game.
SU’s shooting ignited in the third quarter, sparked by guard Olivia Schmitt, who made three of the team’s five consecutive three-pointers to start the period. The freshman finished with a career-high nine points.
Stay ready so you don't have to get ready Liv!
— Syracuse Women's Basketball (@CuseWBB) February 21, 2025
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After Woolley connected on another three, the Orange cut the deficit to 48-43. The senior led Syracuse with 17 points.
The Orange couldn’t carry the momentum to get the score any closer.
Later in the quarter, Legette-Jack and the crowd erupted in frustration after a controversial foul call against Woolley during a steal attempt.
On the following play, UNC took advantage, as Lexi Donarski drained a wide-open corner three off an assist from Grace Townsend, giving the Tar Heels a 55-45 lead entering the final quarter.
With just over five minutes remaining, Wood sank two free throws to make the score 59-53 and keep Syracuse within striking distance.
After that, UNC made a final run to seal the game.
Following the free throws, Wood came out and UNC responded with a 7-0 run. During that stretch, SU committed three turnovers and endured another two-minute scoring drought.
Despite a late effort, including a steal by Woolley with less than a minute remaining, she slipped at half-court. Trayanna Crisp then raced down to score after rebounding a missed layup, sealing UNC’s 68-58 victory over Syracuse.
Syracuse now carries a three-game losing streak into the final three games of the regular season. The team heads down to Durham, North Carolina on Sunday to play No. 11 Duke.