Syracuse hoops clash in competitive Coppin State matchup
Syracuse hoops clash in competitive Coppin State matchup
Syracuse basketball clashed with Coppin State, keeping it a competitive match up until the final quarter where ‘Cuse absolutely dominated. The Orange came out with the win 93-75 and recorded its team’s new season high in points.
First year head coaches Felisha Legette-Jack for the Orange and Jermaine Woods for the Eagles went head-to-head with two powerful guards – Dyaisha Fair and Mossi Staples. Both players scored over 20 points with Fair achieving her season-high in points (27) and Staples tying her season-high.
Coppin State got on the scoreboard first and continued on a 6-0 run until Syracuse forward Dariauna Lewis dove for a loose ball going out-of-bounds. Lewis quickly tossed the ball to Georgia Woolley who passed it to Fair for an easy two point shot, marking ‘Cuse’s first points of the game.
And for the next five minutes of play, Fair was the lone Syracuse player to knock down shots. Coppin State led 16-12 with all of the Orange’s points coming from Fair’s hands.
“Once I continually lead by example it gives them [teammates] the courage for them to step into their leadership role or the role that they have on this team,” Fair said.
Going into the second quarter, the Eagles led 27-23. ‘Cuse got to work with under nine minutes on the clock, Saniaa Wilson snagged an offensive rebound and easily knocked down a two point shot.
Fair put on a clinic in the first quarter 😳
📺 ACCNX https://t.co/oW3jCyw1Hv pic.twitter.com/APqWtXgurd
— ‘Cuse Hoops (@CuseWBB) December 9, 2022
Momentum continued for the Orange with less than two minutes until halftime. Lewis smacked an attempted pass to a Coppin State player and suddenly Fair gained possession of the ball and sprinted down the court. Fair passed to Teisha Hyman who scored a two point shot and extended Syracuse’s lead to six.
“I like the resilience of our team,” Coach Legette-Jack said. “We never felt like the game was out of our hands because it’s a matter of them just getting a little bit more involved defensively.”
The Eagles struggled with both turnovers and behind the three-point line, totaling 19 turnovers and shooting just under 20% from three.
Fair walked off the court for halftime leading the Syracuse squad with 18 points on the board, significantly contributing to ‘Cuse’s 51-45 lead.
The Eagles trailed by a mere two points with under six minutes in the third quarter. But, flash forward to about a minute later and Hyman swished a 3-pointer to make it 64-57 in favor of Syracuse.
Syracuse followed up by acting on a Coppin State travel mistake with Hyman scoring yet another 3-point shot and giving the home team its first double digit lead with 1:39 on the clock.
Hyman also greatly contributed to the team’s success, especially in the second half. She ended the game with 20 points and going 3-5 above the arc.
“We didn’t talk [in the first half] defensively, so once we got that down packaged there’s really no answer for our defensive possessions,” Hyman said of her team’s slow start defensively.
Syracuse forward Asia Strong wasn’t a part of the starting five, but came off the bench and put up 16 total points on the board.
In under five minutes into the fourth quarter, Strong was fouled and made back-to-back free throws to increase the Orange’s lead to 12. Strong ended the night perfect at the free throw line going 4-4.
The Orange dominated in the final quarter, outscoring the Eagles 23-11. Woolley made a layup with just over a minute left to play, giving Syracuse its largest lead of the game and ending score 93-75.
Coach Legette-Jack tallied her 350th win as a head coach and the Syracuse Orange remains undefeated at home. On the flip side, the Eagles added to its losing streak to bring it to five consecutive games.
Looking ahead, the Orange will host Wagner (4-4) on Sunday at 2 p.m.
is a magazine, news and digital journalism graduate student and the Sports co-lead producer for The NewsHouse.
is a content editor for the Infodemic project.
