Alyssa Latham’s career-high 23 points leads SU to win over Alabama

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It was a nightmare scenario for Syracuse. Star point guard Dyaisha Fair, who had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists through the first 25 minutes, couldn’t put any weight on her right leg and had to be helped off the court by her teammates. At the time, SU was tied 45-45 with Alabama and couldn’t afford to lose significant ground.

Yet the Orange responded in the remaining five minutes without Fair, going on a 10-0 run toward the end of the third quarter. Georgia Woolley and Kyra Wood converted on back-to-back layups to start the hot stretch. Then, freshman forward Alyssa Latham emphatically blocked a 3-point attempt from Jessica Timmons and hit a pair of free throws on the other end.

Latham capped off the run, rising up over the Crimson Tide’s Essence Cody for an easy mid-range jumper to increase SU’s lead to 55-45. Alabama scored five points of its own to close out the quarter. But as Fair pedaled a bicycle on the sidelines gearing up for a return, Syracuse did enough in her absence to set the course for the remainder of the contest.

“I think that anytime someone like Dyaisha goes down, we have to rally together,” Woolley said postgame. “We can’t let her not being on the court affect us, so we came together and said ‘We’ve really got to go now,’ and I think that’s what we did.”

Fair checked back in to begin the third quarter, scoring six points in the final frame. The Orange rode the coattails of Fair, and their freshman phenom Latham all evening against the Crimson Tide. Latham set career-highs in points (23) and rebounds (12) in her third double-double through seven games, propelling Syracuse (6-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a 79-73 win over Alabama (7-2, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge. It was SU’s first victory versus an SEC team since Nov. 14, 2018, which was a 75-65 win over then-No. 20 Texas A&M.

Latham’s dominance was matched by star point guard Fair, who’s 20 points helped the duo combine for 43 points. SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack called the victory over the Crimson Tide “special,” emphasizing that it was a sign of things to come.

“If you get in our way, we’re going to come through you,” Legette-Jack said postgame.

Alabama entered Thursday’s matchup with the ninth-fewest points allowed per game (50.1) in the country. Syracuse’s 79-point outing was the most the Crimson Tide have given up all season.

Though, the Orange started out slow. They began 0-for-4 from the field, struggling to create space and generate clean shot opportunities. While Alabama took an early 5-0 lead after its leading scorer, Sarah Ashlee Barker, drained her first two shots which included a driving layup past Woolley and a drained 3 in the left corner over Fair.

Then, 3:11 into the contest, Syracuse scored its first bucket on a short-range jumper from Latham. On its next possession, Fair penetrated the lane and drew a double-team, freeing up Latham along the left baseline, who converted the mid-range try off Fair’s feed. The Crimson Tide’s Aaliyah Nye missed a layup on the ensuing possession and Latham grabbed the rebound. The freshman hit Fair sprinting up the left sideline, who maneuvered by Barker and Del’Janae Williams and drained a step-back 3-pointer to complete a 7-0 SU run.

Alabama and Syracuse traded blows throughout the opening frame, as there were four lead changes in the first 10 minutes. After Nye drilled a 3-pointer to make it 14-13 SU, Fair moved with urgency taking it up court. She blew by Timmons but instead of driving, Fair saw the clock ticking down and made the split-second decision to pass.

Fair leapt up, reared back and fired a scorching ball over Timmons’ head, while Latham cut toward the rim and jumped up to possess the feed. Latham converted the ensuing lay-in at the buzzer, sealing a 16-13 Syracuse advantage through one quarter.

Entering her seventh-career collegiate game, Latham had shown Legette-Jack that she could do everything. She has proved to be an elite rebounder and imposing shot blocker, while being an efficient shooter. Except, she hadn’t hit a 3-pointer yet.

Fair found Latham posted up at the left block, working on the Crimson Tide’s Meg Newman. Latham set herself and spun to the right, nailing a fadeaway mid-range jumper to get into double figures. Then after Alabama’s Karly Weathers missed a 3, Syracuse sped off in transition. Woolley found Latham uncovered at the top of the key, and the freshman drained the ensuing 3-pointer — the first of her career — putting SU up 23-17.

By the 5:55 mark in the second quarter, Latham had game-highs of 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting and five rebounds.

Latham and Fair’s takeover had just begun at that point. The two sparked a commanding 13-0 run during the second quarter, combining for 11 points in that stretch.

After Latham’s 3-point make, Fair drilled an unassisted 3 from the top of the key. And to close out the run, Fair rose up over Weathers and knocked down a deep 3-pointer, her fourth of the game, to give Syracuse a 14-point lead — its largest of the evening.

“The rhythm started changing…I just love the way it feels,” Legette-Jack said of the dominant 13-0 run. “And it started feeling different.”

Still, Alabama crawled back into the contest. It closed the first half outscoring the Orange 12-4, running its offense through Barker, who finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting. The Crimson Tide faced a six-point deficit to begin the second half.

They initially slowed down the duo of Fair and Latham, as they combined for one point through the opening five minutes of the second half. SU got strong production from Izabel Varejão, as the 6-foot-4 Michigan transfer scored seven points early in the third frame.

Barker ignited the Crimson Tide’s offense, drilling a 3-pointer in the left corner off a feed from Loyal McQueen and then finishing an acrobatic layup on the following possession.

Once Fair got helped off to the sidelines at the 4:59 mark of the third quarter, Alabama had a prime opportunity to take advantage of SU missing its best player. But the Orange kept the Crimson Tide at arm’s length and even outscored them by five during Fair’s brief absence.

In the early portion of the fourth quarter, Syracuse played its best basketball of the evening. An assist from Fair to Alaina Rice in the left corner, succeeded by a Fair breakaway layup gave the Orange a 69-59 lead with 3:24 left in the game. A fired up Legette-Jack leapt out of her chair to pump up her players after Alabama’s ensuing timeout.

But the Crimson Tide stormed back, going on their own seven-point run that was spurred by two made 3-pointers from Nye, who finished with 17 points. So, it was fitting that Latham delivered SU’s finishing blow, as the one who got it all started.

As the clock dwindled past 1:30 remaining, Woolley missed a mid-range jumper from the right elbow. Latham displayed her looming paint presence, boxing out Newman to secure the offensive board, her twelfth of the contest. She jumped back up and finished through contact, drawing a foul on Newman and bringing Latham to the line for the and-one try.

Latham buried the free throw, giving the Orange a five-point advantage to seal the game. Her 23-point, 12-rebound double-double was a resounding response from shooting 6-of-18 from the floor and scoring 13 points through SU’s previous two outings in Las Vegas, Nev.

“Those couple of games, I had bad games. My sisters needed me and I wasn’t there,” Latham said after Thursday’s win. “I felt like I needed to step up and I needed to be there for my sisters, so I can be able to help and tell our story.”