Opponent preview: What to know ahead of SU’s season opener vs. Lafayette

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Year two of the Felisha Legette-Jack era begins Tuesday for Syracuse as it takes on Lafayette in the season opener.

In her first season at the helm, Legette-Jack set the record for most wins in a debut season by a SU head coach (20), guiding her team to Super 16 finish in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

Legette-Jack has put a strong emphasis on improving defensively heading into her second season. In 2022-23, the Orange were the second-best offensive team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (74.2 points per game), but were also the second-worst defensive team in the conference (67.9 points allowed per game).

And while she has All-ACC defender Dyaisha Fair at her disposal, who polished her game in the offseason, Legette-Jack brought in a fresh face in Alyssa Latham and 6-foot-4 graduate transfer Izabel Varejao to help shore up SU’s defensive ability. Against The College of Saint Rose in an Oct. 31 exhibition win, the Orange held the Golden Knights to 32.3% shooting, a first look at what they can become defensively.

“Discipline, joy, competitiveness, passion, adaptability,” Legette-Jack said Monday on what she wants to see from her team in the season opener. “I think winning is easy, but it’s all the process of those things. Those words I just shared is what’s going to propel us to have a great season and hopefully get us into the NCAA (Tournament).”

Here’s everything you need to know about Lafayette before Syracuse’s regular-season home opener on Tuesday:

All-time series

Syracuse leads 1-0.

Last time they played

SU and Lafayette have only faced off once before. On Nov. 19, 2011, the Orange defeated the Leopards 74-54. Carmen Tyson-Thomas led Syracuse with a then-career-high 21 points while Kayla Alexander recorded a double-double, finishing with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Alexander and Tyson-Thomas were two of five players to register double figures against Lafayette.

After the first half of play, the Orange held a slim 31-30 advantage over the Leopards. In the second half, Syracuse embarked on a dominating 18-2 run to take a 49-33 lead, which it never relinquished.

That season, Syracuse wound up qualifying for the WNIT. After winning its first four games and advancing to the semifinals, the Orange fell to James Madison 74-71, which ended as runner-ups to eventual champion Oklahoma State.

The Leopards report

Lafayette finished last season 10-19, falling in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament. Its head coach, Kia Damon-Olson, is now in her seventh season at the helm. She’s accumulated a 61-101 record in just one winning season (2019-20), and has not qualified for the NCAA Tournament with the Leopards.

Their leading scorer from last year, Makayla Andrews, is back for her senior season with the program. She, along with fellow guard Abby Antognoli, were the only two on the team that averaged double-digit points in 2022-23. Lafayette’s 54.4 team points per game ranked 339th of 361 Division I teams, according to HerHoopStats, while Syracuse’s 74.2 finished 34th overall.

Cindy Zhang | Digital Design Director

The Leopards’ offensive rating on HerHoopStats was 82.0, which was the 39th-worst rating in the country last year. There’s not much that they did well in the previous campaign, other than averaging the 25th-fewest fouls per game (14.0) and ranking 98th in turnovers (14.5 per game).

How Syracuse beats Lafayette

While Syracuse will likely handle Lafayette with ease, the largest disparity will be in terms of rebounding. The Leopards were one of the worst rebounding teams in the country last year, according to HerHoopStats. They averaged the 35th-fewest offensive boards per game (8.7), while averaging a somewhat better 24.0 defensive boards per game, ranking No. 248 of 361 teams.

Lafayette’s total rebounding rate was a lowly 45.1%, coming in 27th-worst in the nation. The Orange are going to overpower the Leopards on the glass. SU averaged the 29th-most boards (40.7) and the 19th-most offensive rebounds (14.6) per game last season. It also rebounds at an over 50% clip.

Of course, this will be a game where Fair and the offense dominates. But rebounding-wise, the difference should be quite telling. Even with its favorable numbers on the glass last season, Syracuse has a frontcourt full of newcomers like Latham and Varejao, who bring length and athleticism down low. Plus, it has a returning big in Kyra Wood, who averaged nearly two offensive rebounds last season.

While Lafayette’s Kayla Drummond could pose a potential threat on the boards (she led the team with 7.4 rebounds per game last year), SU’s frontcourt is too deep to overcome.

Stat to know: 26.7%

According to HerHoopStats, Lafayette ranked No. 319 in D-I in 3-point shooting last season, converting at a measly 26.7%. In contrast, Syracuse shot at a 31.4% clip, which trended closer to the national average. The Leopards only had two players who shot above 30% from deep, while guard Kylie Favours — who attempted a team-high 126 3-pointers — only shot at a 20.6% rate from long range.

SU can simply shoot its way to what should be a convincing victory over Lafayette. Fair’s 88 made 3-pointers ranked 19th in the nation last season, while she shot over 36% from deep. Having players to complement her with high volume 3-point shooting like Sophie Burrows, who went 6-for-9 from 3 in the exhibition win against Saint Rose, and Georgia Woolley, who was second on Syracuse in made 3s last season, will only make life easier for the Orange.

Player to watch: Makayla Andrews, guard, No. 23

Andrews led the Leopards in scoring last year, averaging 14.2 points per game on 45.1% shooting. She reached double-digits in 23-of-29 games played, showing a strong ability to drive to the hoop and score with efficiency from close range. Andrews only made six 3s on 32 tries, as she tends to play as a physical guard.

The 5-foot-10 Andrews averaged 6.6 rebounds per game in 2022-23, the second-highest total on Lafayette. Her versatility as a glass cleaner could give Syracuse’s smaller guards like Fair, Lexi McNabb and Kennedi Perkins some matchup problems on Tuesday evening.