Syracuse women's basketball took down Wake Forest 67-58 in its first ACC matchup of the season. Syracuse went on a 12-2 scoring run in the game's final two minutes, aiding the team to a 9-2 start on the season.
Dyaisha Fair’ drove the scoring with a 25-point afternoon, continuing her dominance on the offensive end. While the senior has shown how talented of a facilitator she can be, Fair only registered one assist Sunday afternoon, her second-lowest total of the season. Luckily, high basketball IQ helped the Rochester native take control of the game late.
“We knew that their guards were in foul trouble,” Fair said. “So, we knew that the more we attacked there was a high chance there would be a foul.”
Four of the Demon Deacon starters had four fouls, which helped Fair, and the Orange find the weak spot from the jump. Syracuse was much more aggressive than Wake Forest; driving into the paint and getting to the free-throw line was an important piece of the puzzle. The ‘Cuse made 20 of 24 free throws, good for 83%, which, to head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, is what her team should do every time they step out on the floor.
“We have not been making free throws earlier this season,” Jack said. “I have been more surprised at that than what I saw today. We are really a good group of free throw-shooting young ladies. There is nothing I need to do; they bring that to the table with what is in their lunchbox. [83%] is the expectation.”
Defensively, the Orange looked as sound as they have been all season, with 12 steals and Wake Forest turning the ball over 17 times. Syracuse used the momentum on the defensive end of the floor to spark its offense.
Cheyenne McEvans wore the hard hat at the postgame press conference, where she credited the win to staying locked in on defense and communicating more down the stretch. Coach Jack was proud of the intensity her team brought to the table.
“The team really trusts me on defense and that is what I’m here to do,” McEvans said. “I encourage them to work with me. When they rise, we all rise together. I feed into them, and they feed into me, and when I have the confidence in them, it just leads me to take risks, take chances, dive on the ground, and get those loose balls because I know they have my back.”
Coach Jack praised her team’s defensive effort, as well.
“We look at defense as a microcosm of life,” Jack said. “As I say all the time, you do not let somebody go upstairs in your house when your mama is not home. You have to protect your front door.”
One thing that does not show up in the box score is how well Teisha Hyman carried the ball. It seemed like every transition opportunity that presented itself, the Syracuse gaurd pushed the tempo and never stopped running. While she also had just one assist in the contest, Hyman’s effort should not have gone unnoticed, booking eight points and seven rebounds.
But one player’s efforts were not the sole reason for Sunday’s win. This team competed with a good conference opponent to take the victory. For Coach Jack, this was a hopeful sign of good things to come.
“This is just one game,” Jack said. “This is just another team. This is a good conference, the best in the country. Number one. So, I think that any time we play against a team in our conference, it’s always good to have a good showing. It is good to play against them and it is good to beat them.”
The Orange link up with one more out-of-conference opponent in the University of Albany on Tuesday at 10:30 am before battling it out with ACC opponents the rest of the way.