All-around scoring leads Syracuse past Northeastern in 79-57 victory

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It was an odd sight for Syracuse when, at halftime, Dyaisha Fair had only taken one shot. She wasn’t aggressive, constantly passing up open looks. She didn’t look to attack off the dribble. And in her absence on the scoreboard, her teammates filled in.

So far this season, the Orange have shown its ability to win without Fair carrying the scoring load. Against Northern Iowa on Nov. 24, Fair went 4-for-16, but the Orange won by double digits. Against Northeastern, Fair didn’t hunt her shot through the first three quarters, partially hampered by an ankle injury. Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said Fair went back to the locker room in the middle of the first quarter to get her ankle taped up, but should be fine going forward.

“I think she’s gonna be okay, especially since we play Ohio who’s in the MAC (Mid-American Conference), which is our old stomping grounds,” Legette-Jack said. “If I sat her for that game she might take me to the shed and beat me up.”

Fair seemed to slow down after injuring her ankle, taking just two shots through the first three quarters. But it didn’t matter as Syracuse (7-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) used an all-around scoring effort to defeat Northeastern (4-4, 0-0 Colonial Athletic Association) 79-57. Georgia Woolley led the way with 17 points and the Orange got a boost off the bench from Sophie Burrows, who knocked down three 3-pointers. Saniaa Wilson also finished with a season-high nine points. Syracuse featured nine scorers as the Orange won their fourth straight game.

Yet, it wasn’t smooth sailing early on. Syracuse got out to a rough start offensively in the first quarter, shooting under 35 percent from the field while Northeastern shot over 53 percent. Huskies guard Derin Erdogan gave the Orange fits in the pick-and-roll with forward Deja Bristol. The duo combined to score Northeastern’s first 16 points after an Erdogan 3-pointer put the Huskies up 16-10 early on.

“Some of that energy that we didn’t have in the first half belonged with me, and as a head coach you gotta own it,” Legette-Jack said.

In the second quarter, Syracuse made a concerted effort to get the ball inside and utilize its size advantage. With Fair showing an unwillingness to shoot the ball, the Orange fed center Izabel Varejão. Although, at times, the offense seemed forced with Varejão missing multiple looks inside and traveling.

Eventually, Alaina Rice and Woolley began to gain control of the contest by driving toward the basket. Woolley’s two shots at the line gave Syracuse a 22-21 lead, its first of the game. The next possession, Rice found Burrows on a crosscourt feed for a 3-pointer.

With 2:37 remaining in the first half, Burrows fed Woolley on a skip find. Woolley faked to get her defender in the air before knocking down a jumper from range. Her make capped off an 11-0 run from Syracuse. In the first half, each SU player who entered the game (8) recorded a point, but no player was in double figures.

“That’s something that we all had to come to that realization with everybody on our team everybody on our bench is to come in again and be efficient and effective,” Wilson said. “So I think whether Dyaisha scores two or whether she scores 40, she has teammates to back her up, either way.”

Though Legette-Jack praised Wilson’s energy after the game, the SU forward had less of an impact in the second half as Woolley got into a rhythm in the third quarter. She knocked down an easy midrange jumper early on. And on the next possession, she drove through the lane, drawing in the defense before finding Alyssa Latham inside for two, putting Syracuse up 38-31.

The Orange continued to attack the paint. Fair scored her second shot of the game off of a lay-in. A few possessions later, Woolley faked from the left wing, affording her an open lane for an easy layup to put Syracuse up 10 — its largest lead up to that point.

Woolley’s offense looked to be too much for Northeastern to handle in the third quarter but the Huskies stuck with it. Erdogan continued to find her rhythm on the offensive end, knocking down a few mid-range jumpers to cut Syracuse’s lead down to four at one point. The point guard finished with 23 points, knocking down five triples.

In transition, Fair looked to push the floor. It looked as if she had a lane to the basket, but instead kicked the ball out to Burrows once again, who drained her second 3-pointer of the game. Less than a minute later Varejão seemed lost under the basket, but Burrows popped open in the corner for another triple, helping the Orange finish the quarter on a 9-0 run.

The run continued in the fourth quarter as SU scored seven more. Varejão hit a mid range jumper before stepping beyond the arc and draining a 3-pointer, putting Syracuse up 61-41 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.

After only taking two shots the entire first quarter, Fair oddly enough started hunting for her shot. Fair took four straight shots in the fourth quarter, knocking down two 3-pointers. The point guard scored 10 of her 14 points in the fourth after just four in the first 30 minutes. It didn’t matter much as the Orange had already built up a big enough lead, cruising to a fourth straight win.

“We’re just a team that’s trying to get better without anybody on the team wearing the ‘I’m the best player team hat,’” Legette-Jack said.