Like a kid in a giant corn maze, Syracuse women's basketball looked lost in the first quarter.
Bad passes, five turnovers, rushed shots, and sloppy defense. The team that lit up the floor against Pittsburgh was nowhere to be found, trailing 27-20 until the second quarter, that is.
Everything clicked and it almost sounded like a seatbelt strapping in ringing throughout the LittleJohn Coliseum. What didn’t work in the first made a smooth transition in the second.
Syracuse outscored Clemson 25-10 in the second. The Orange, who had shot 1-7 from three to start the game, went into the break 3-12, hitting over 40% in the second quarter, where Dyaisha Fair knocked down two triples and did not stop there.
The most impressive feat from Syracuse was its 24-1 run the Orange went on midway through the second quarter and the first few minutes into the third. This team played lockdown defense and made passes inside nearly impossible for the Tigers.
The Orange had their best game of the season in terms of passing. The ball distribution was second to none that broke down Clemson's 2-3 zone defense.
While Syracuse allowed 27 points in the first quarter, the defense stepped up tremendously through the second and third to hold Clemson to a combined 33 points between the two. Syracuse swiped away 13 steals and forced 16 turnovers while adding three blocks to the mix.
It seemed like Syracuse was grooving to victory early in the fourth when the Orange led by a game-high 17 points until Clemson went on a 10-0 run to draw within four points, 74-70.
Clemson had the home crowd, the momentum, and had stopped all offensive flow for Syracuse with under six minutes to go in the game. But, the Orange had Teisha Hyman.
She shot 0-6 against NC State, scored five points against Pittsburgh, and had not looked herself since the new year. But she may have hit the most crucial shot of the game.
Hyman buried a triple from the right side of the key to go up 77-70 and allowed Syracuse fans to breathe once again.
Clemson would get close against 79-75 with under three minutes to go, but Dyaisha Fair put that come back to bed.
She ripped off her sixth triple of the night and put her team up 84-75, and by then, it was just free throws to close out the game.
Dyaisha Fair put up a Syracuse career-high 27 points and popped off for six triples in the game. She has scored a combined 51 points over the course of her last two games.
Georgia Woolley and Teisha Hyman each scored 14 points, and Asia Strong came off the bench for fantastic minutes and scored in double figures with 13.
Syracuse shot a great ball at 45 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. The Orange dominated on the glass 50-34 and snagged a solid 21 offensive rebound which led to 23 second-chance points.
Syracuse claims its first road win in ACC play and moves to 3-2 in conference and 12-4 overall on the season. Syracuse has already surpassed the total number of wins the program had from a season ago, 11.
Syracuse is next in action on Thursday, January 12th, when the Orange take on Boston College on the road.