Syracuse’s rotating cast of forwards fuels 2nd-chance scoring

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Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack describes rebounding as the “drug” of her team. Dariauna Lewis doesn’t like to see her guards “drop their heads” when they miss shots, so she keeps crashing the glass to provide second-chance buckets.

Securing offensive rebounds and converting on second-chance opportunities has been integral for Syracuse this season. Ranking 26th of 361 teams nationally and third in the ACC with 14.8 offensive rebounds per game, according to Her Hoop Stats, the Orange have notched double-digit offensive boards in 20 of their 21 games this season.

In its win against Clemson, SU recorded 23 second-chance points off of 21 offensive rebounds. In the first quarter, Georgia Woolley settled in the left corner for a 3-pointer. She missed, but Kyra Wood boxed out her defender and corralled the rebound. Using her strength down low, Wood scored on the put-back. Later in the third quarter, Woolley sprinted out on a fast break and missed a contested layup, but Dariauna Lewis trailed down the court to score inside, giving Syracuse a 62-47 lead.

“If you don’t rebound, (there’s a) hard chance for you to win the game,” Lewis said earlier in the season.

In wins, Syracuse averages 15.6 second-chance points off of 14.6 offensive rebounds, while in defeats, it scores just 9.6 second-chance points off of 12.6 offensive boards. The effort is spearheaded by the bigs down low — Wood, Lewis and Asia Strong — as the latter two are in the top 20 in the conference in total offensive rebounds.

Against Wagner in December, Lewis recorded 13 points and 12 rebounds in a win — one of her eight double-doubles so far this season. Half of the rebounds were offensive, including one possession where she had three in a row. The Orange scored 52 of its 83 points in the paint, as Lewis’ size outmatched that of the Seahawks. In the first quarter, Lewis had a personal 4-0 run simply on putbacks.

Legette-Jack compared Lewis to former professional player Dennis Rodman, one of just nine NBA players to secure at least 4,000 offensive rebounds.

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“I know that when I am there for a rebound, it gives (my teammates) confidence to go like ‘oh, I’m gonna keep shooting because I know somebody (is) going to rebound,’” Lewis said after the contest.

Apart from Syracuse’s staple rotation of Wood, Lewis and Strong, Saniaa Wilson makes contributions as well. In a losing effort against Duke last time out, Wilson got hands on three offensive rebounds playing limited minutes.

As of late, Wood has become more of a presence on the offensive glass. Following the team’s loss to then-No. 7 Notre Dame, Legette-Jack described Wood as a force “to be reckoned with,” as she notched a season-high five offensive rebounds against the Irish. Wood has recorded at least three offensive rebounds in six of her last seven games.

In the second quarter against Notre Dame, Alaina Rice delivered a diagonal bounce pass left to Strong, who attempted an up-and-under layup in transition. It missed, but Wood cleaned it up to give Syracuse a 25-24 lead.

The Orange benefit from playing faster in transition, and occasionally, they’ll miss the fast-break layup, but players are often trailing for an easy putback. It happened frequently as part of a 24-1 run that lifted Syracuse past Clemson. Chasing after a pass just a little too far ahead of her, Woolley put up an awkward layup attempt. But Strong followed behind, grabbed the board and scored on the putback.

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Second-chance scoring is also how Syracuse scored its first points of the season when it played Stony Brook in November. After Teisha Hyman missed two point-blank attempts, Strong got another rebound to score a layup on the left side. It marked two of five offensive rebounds in the first five minutes en route to a season-high 25 offensive rebounds over the Seawolves.

Syracuse picked up its first conference win over Wake Forest in December, relying on second-chance efforts. The Orange remained close throughout, trailing 56-55, until it closed the game out on a run to win 67-58. SU had more than doubled the Demon Deacons’ offensive rebounding total and had eight times more second-chance points to secure its sixth-straight win.

“Our bigs really did a tremendous job rebounding and our guards were able to have some fun,” Legette-Jack said after the win. “I think we’re still becoming and we’re still on our way.”

In the fourth quarter alone, Syracuse had nine offensive rebounds to finish with 18 against the Demon Deacons, including four in the same possession with under four minutes remaining. The guards also contributed, as Cheyenne McEvans secured a couple off the bench.

Syracuse has nine regular season games remaining, its next one on Thursday, Jan. 26 against Virginia — the conference’s best offensive rebounding team and the 13th-best nationally, per Her Hoop Stats. Boston College, Notre Dame, Florida State and North Carolina also rank in the top third in the country on the offensive glass.

“If you pursue rebounds like this, it gives us opportunities (for) not one shot, (not) two shots, but three shots in a single possession,” Legette-Jack said. “Our other bigs are trying again after it as well.”