SU suffers quick exit to Florida State in ACC quarterfinals

Another year, another disappointing ACC Tournament run for Syracuse.

The No. 3 seed Syracuse women’s basketball team fell to No. 6-seeded Florida State 78-65 Friday night, with poor shooting and lack of rebounding sealing SU’s fate. 

As per usual, Syracuse relied on graduate guard Dyaisha Fair to generate the team’s offense; however, for most of the game, Fair was locked up by FSU’s Sara Bejedi. No other player on the Orange was able to take over, with junior Saniaa Wilson scoring 14 points to be SU’s second-leading scorer. 

The loss means just one thing for Syracuse: you lose, you’re done. As March enters full swing, there’s no more room for performances like the one seen tonight.

Here are three takeaways from the Orange’s tournament loss.

Shooting Struggles

It took Syracuse over 30 minutes to start shooting the ball effectively – at the end of the first half, the Orange were shooting a measly 27% from the field and 30% from behind the arc. 

FSU maintained close to 40% from the field throughout the game – not great, but passable when an opponent shoots the ball as poorly as Syracuse did for most of the game. A late surge in the fourth quarter gave the Orange a glimmer of hope, as SU shot 67% from the field to try and claw back from a nearly 30-point deficit. 

Unfortunately for head coach Felisha Legette-Jack’s team, there was not enough time on the clock for the Orange to come back. Had Syracuse shot as efficiently as it did in the final frame, SU would be the team playing NC State tomorrow. 

OMG

While dynamic guard Ta’niya Latson scoring 25 points is expected out of the Seminoles, her backcourt partner, O’Mariah Gordon, put up a career-high 24 of her own. Latson was forced to sit for much of the first half after getting into foul trouble early on. 

With Florida State needing to fill its leading scorer’s void, Gordon took over, scoring 16 points in the first half. With SU keeping things close at the end of the first quarter, Gordon drove into the paint and threw up a buzzer-beating floater to shift momentum fully into FSU’s favor.

 The Seminoles went on a 12-0 run in the second quarter and never looked back. Less notable later in the game thanks to Latson’s 20-point second-half performance, Gordon stepped up when needed the most.

Fair-well ACC

Despite Syracuse’s shooting woes, Fair put up a team-high 23 points. The SU great also led the team in rebounding – not a good sign based on her five-foot-five frame. 

 For Fair, the game is likely the final time she will face off against an ACC opponent, and with Syracuse crashing out of the tournament, it leaves Fair with just one loss left in her storied collegiate career. 

No matter what happens next, Fair will always be remembered as one of the greatest players to put on the Orange jersey. While her time at SU will go without a conference championship, not enough can be said for what the Rochester native has done for the team.

Now awaiting NCAA Tournament seeding, Fair and the Orange will look to capitalize on SU’s best season in years with a successful tournament run.