Observations from Syracuse’s win: Woolley’s 1st half, Dyaisha Fair hits milestone
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Against Virginia Tech on Thursday, Syracuse was in position for a massive upset against the then-13th ranked Hokies. The Orange were neck-and-neck through three quarters, trailing just 52-50 at the end of the third.
But Virginia Tech’s 14-0 run to start the fourth quarter effectively put the game out of reach for Syracuse. It returned to the JMA Wireless Dome on Sunday to host Boston College, which it defeated 83-73 in Chestnut Hill in January.
Syracuse (15-9, 6-7 Atlantic Coast) jumped right out of the gates with an 11-2 lead before Boston College responded with a 13-0 run. Eventually, behind Georgia Woolley’s 18 first-half points, Syracuse took a 45-30 halftime lead. The Orange extended their lead to as much as 22 points early in the third quarter before BC cut it back down to single digits. But, Syracuse eventually closed the game out.
Here are some observations from SU’s 79-72 win over Boston College (14-12, 4-9 ACC):
Have a first half, Georgia Woolley
In the second quarter, Woolley received a pass from Rice in the corner. She pump-faked a three, causing her defender to bite. Taking two dribbles in, Woolley scored the mid-range jumper with ease. Then on SU’s next possession, Woolley penetrated into the lane and made a floater.
On a second-chance opportunity in the first quarter, Lewis tipped the rebound to Woolley, who went up and drew the foul. Similarly, she corralled the ball on a missed Dyaisha Fair 3, drawing the foul. On another play, she forced a foul on a baseline jumper. Woolley went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, and finished with 18 first-half points to lead all scorers.
Woolley finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists. She drove into the lane and found Rice wide-open on the perimeter. Rice drilled the uncontested 3-pointer off of Woolley’s assist. Though not credited with the assist, Woolley drove inside, before dishing a simple bounce pass to Lewis at the free-throw line. Lewis quickly passed it to Saniaa Wilson, who scored the open bucket at the left block to extend SU’s double-digit lead in the third quarter.
Defensively, Woolley added two steals. On one BC possession, Woolley poked the ball loose twice, disorganizing the Eagles offense. She eventually grabbed the defensive rebound on the missed floater later in the possession. Then, she scored a fast-break layup after an Eagles pass rolled back into the backcourt. Woolley was much quieter for the second-half, garnering just two points in the final 20 minutes, though she secured her fourth consecutive game with at least 15 points.
Boston College’s 3rd-quarter run
Boston College trailed by as many as 22 in the early part of the third quarter, the game appearing to get out of reach. But the Orange went silent for the back half of the third period. T’Yana Todd drilled a 3-pointer while Maria Gakdeng and Taina Mair both notched layups. The Eagles managed to get the game back into single digits before trailing by 10 entering the final period.
Gakdeng was often BC’s go-to option down low. She scored the bulk of her 20 points from inside the paint. On one play, Gakdeng secured the offensive rebound off a missed jumper, then went up and scored the contested layup.
3-ball
Syracuse started the game on a 11-2 run behind three 3-pointers in the first three minutes. Alaina Rice drained one from the left wing after the Eagles scored the opening bucket. Woolley made one from the same spot while Fair swished one from the right wing. BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee called a timeout as a result.
The 3-ball has been a struggle occasionally for the Orange, including games against Duke and Georgia Tech where they made just two. And though it fell to Louisville, the 10 3-pointers kept Syracuse in the game for the first three quarters. Against Virginia, where Fair tied a program record eight 3’s, Syracuse made 12 of them for a 90-72 win.
On Sunday, Boston College kept leaving the wings open. It was simple for the Orange to drive inside before kicking out to an open player on the perimeter. In the first half, Syracuse went 6-of-13 from deep.
The second half wasn’t the same story. Syracuse missed all four of its 3-point attempts in the third quarter and Boston College halved its once 20-point deficit, generating some momentum heading into the final period. The first 3-pointer in the second half came from Fair, who nailed one from the right wing to give SU a 65-54 lead in the fourth quarter.
Fair surpasses 2,500 mark
With a pair of free throws toward the end of the first half, Fair became the second player among active Division-I players to reach 2,500 career points. She’s scored in double digits in every single game this season and accrued the bulk of those points at Buffalo, where she played under Felisha Legette-Jack for three seasons.
On Sunday against Boston College, Fair finished with 24 points on 7-of-17 shooting. In the third quarter, she scored a fast break layup and Rice stole the ball from the previous Eagle possession. And on another play in the first half, she went coast-to-coast in transition like she has so many times this season. She notched her 13th 20-point game of the season.
In the fourth quarter with the Orange up 69-60, Fair called for the ball to reset the offense. Syracuse spread the floor, leaving a one-on-one matchup with Fair and her defender. Fair drove and made the up-and-under layup.
