Defense, improved shooting lifts SU to easy 72-48 win over Colgate
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Colgate’s Sophia Diehl tried to pass the ball to the baseline in the third quarter, but Dariauna Lewis deflected it and forced Diehl’s second turnover in a span of 35 seconds. On the fast break, Teisha Hyman delivered an underhand pass to Alaina Rice, who hit the transition layup to put Syracuse up 44-21, the largest lead of the game at that point.
Syracuse (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) easily won 72-48 over Colgate (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League), behind a strong defense and improved shooting. On Wednesday, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said the team wasn’t where they needed to be defensively, but that it improved following the win over Stony Brook. Tonight, Syracuse limited the Raiders to a 28.1% clip from the floor and registered 10 steals.
“We’re getting better. We’re pleased but not satisfied,” Legette-Jack said of the defense. “It’s not going to be great until you’re the last team dancing.”
Hyman opened up the scoring for the Orange after faking a shot as she approached the lane and hit a fadeaway 2. Against Stony Brook on Monday, the Orange went just 31% from the field in the first quarter, but against the Raiders, they went 50%, recognizing scoring inside was their most high-percentage option.
“If we have a bad shooting night, we gotta turn it around quick,” Lewis said. “That’s the job of our bigs, is our guards shooting the ball, and that’s our way of getting our rebounds and making them look good too.”
Colgate did just the opposite, mostly shooting from beyond the arc in the first. It struggled, going 1-of-5 from 3 and just 2-of-16 on field goals in the opening period. The Raiders improved in the second quarter, getting three 3-pointers and 15 points. Jenna Paul was the only scoring threat for Colgate as she drained a game-high 18 points, all from deep.
Whenever the Raiders approached the lane, they were often unsuccessful. After Alaina Rice blocked Diehl’s layup, Rice transitioned the ball up the floor, eventually finding Dyaisha Fair for a layup on the other end.
On another play, Asia Strong stole the ball as Taylor Golembiewski tried to drive into the lane. Fair picked up the loose ball, going coast-to-coast before missing a contested layup. But Lewis was there to corral the rebound and score the put-back to give SU a 29-13 lead.
On another play, Lara Cook tried to drive the baseline from the right side. But as she shot, Saniaa Wilson swatted the ball with her left hand. On the other end, Hyman delivered a pass to Kyra Wood in the paint for an easy 2.
Just like in the Stony Brook win, control on the glass extended and created possessions as SU won the rebounding battle 49-31. Despite the absence of forward/center Olivia Owens, who’s still absent because of “team rules,” Lewis and Strong continued the trend from Monday, combining for 18 rebounds.
“I just can’t stop rebounding,” Lewis said. “…I’m there on the glass every time. I know that if I keep working hard to rebound, I know I make my guards look good.”
After Strong attempted a 3 from the left wing, Lewis made a tough rebound in the paint. Lewis immediately went back up, generating a foul. The ball rattled around the rim, just falling out. But Lewis still made one of two free throws to extend the Orange’s lead.
Within six minutes of play in the third quarter, Rice’s point total exploded from four points to 14. Jenna Paul hit her fifth 3-pointer for Colgate before Rice drove the ball into the lane from the right wing and finished with a left-handed layup. On the next possession, Rice nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing. She finished with a team-high 16 points.
The offensive struggles continued for the Raiders in the third quarter, where they turned the ball over nine times and the Orange garnered six steals. Diehl would later turn the ball over again and Morgan McMahon poorly passed the ball, which allowed Fair to intercept it and go coast-to-coast and force a foul. Fair went 1-of-2 on that trip from the line. Late in the fourth quarter, Nyah Wilson intercepted Chidinma Okafor’s pass, culminating in another Fair bucket.
After Colgate had another single-digit scoring quarter in the third — shooting 20% from the field for eight points — the game was already well-beyond reach. Four of SU’s starters started the fourth quarter on the bench. After Wood blocked Christina Midgette’s left-handed layup, Nyah brought the ball up the right side of the court. She passed it off to Rice, who once again, drove down the lane from the top of the key for an easy 2.
Because of the massive lead, Lexi McNabb, Kennedi Perkins and Ava Irvin earned additional minutes. With about three minutes left, Perkins dribbled around Lewis’ screen, split two defenders and finished a right-handed layup to give Syracuse a 66-38 lead. Wood and Saniaa later replaced Strong and Lewis to close out the win against Colgate, who finished with two single-digit scoring quarters.
“Sometimes I think we got a two-headed monster,” Legette-Jack said. “We want to score a lot of points. We want to defend under 59 points.”
