Orange kick off ACC play with a victory

The Orange started ACC play with a gritty 86-81 win over No.13 Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Stand out performances from both upper classmen and a freshman produced an all-around team victory against a Fighting Irish squad that’s been winning games by an average of about 33 points.

Graduate guard Dyaisha Fair led the Orange in scoring with 27 points, including three clutch 3-pointers to respond to late Irish baskets. She added five-of-six free throws during the last two minutes of the game to extend the Orange lead and secure the win.

Fair never wavered despite shooting one-of-eight from beyond the arc before the fourth quarter. Sharing ball handling responsibilities with sophomore guard Kennedi Perkins and junior guard Georgia Woolley, Fair led a fast-paced offense that pushed in transition whenever possible while also managing to break down Notre Dame’s 2-3 zone in the half-court with ball movement and consistent pressure in the paint.

Fair acknowledged she felt hesitant shooting early in the game. The graduate student said her in-game adjustment was all mental.

“There were a couple shots that I was hesitant on and that’s why they didn’t go in. When I stopped hesitating and realized that we’re as good as them, and we belong where they are, that’s where it all came from,” Fair said.

Freshman forward Alyssa Latham was the Orange’s second leading scorer with 21 points. She also grabbed 12 rebounds in her 32 minutes. The freshman gave up a couple inches and years of experience to Notre Dame’s frontcourt, but led the way as the Orange out rebounded the Irish 45-to-33, including 20 offensive rebounds.

Like Fair, Latham said the key to beating a Fighting Irish squad that usually out rebounds their opponents by about 16 per game was all mental.

“Just crashing,” Latham said with a smile and chuckle. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 7’5” or 5’2”. It doesn’t matter. We’re going to play hard. We’re going to fight for the ball.”

Latham’s tenacity, like the rest of the Orange, was focused.

Notre Dame tried to confuse the Orange in the second half by switching to a full court press at seemingly random times.

It worked for the first time. Latham was able to break the press the second time by calmly catching a cross court pass while she stood just a couple feet away from halfcourt. Latham embraced a frenetic Irish double team, repeatedly pivoting a couple feet from both the sideline and halfcourt line until she saw a gap between the defenders.

She broke through and drove to the basket for a momentum changing layup in the tight fourth quarter. The freshman followed that up a couple minutes later by swooping in for an offensive rebound and layup against two of the Fighting Irish as they wrestled another Orange player for the ball underneath their basket.

Orange head coach Felisha Legette-Jack described the game as a dog fight. Immediately after the game ended, Legette-Jack grabbed a microphone from the scorer’s table to congratulate her team and thank the Syracuse fans for supporting them. At the post-game press conference, she said the constant cheering made it sound like there were 10,000 people in the Dome.

Looking ahead to the rest of conference play, she said Syracuse fans can expect more performances like today.

“You want to have fun, you want to come out and really enjoy being in your own skin, then the women’s basketball game is what you might need to watch,” Legette-Jack said.

Reflecting on today’s game, she said the Orange have all the ingredients to continue their winning ways.

“It’s just remarkable to be around young people who don’t really care who gets the credit. We give the glory to something bigger than ourselves, and they shared it with their sisters,” she said.

The Orange will travel to Chapel Hill to take on No.24 North Carolina on Thursday. Top off is scheduled at 6 p.m.