Despite leading No. 6 in North Carolina by nine points, the Syracuse Women’s Basketball weren’t victorious until the end. The Orange suffered their first home defeat of the season, with the final score being 56–54 for her.
Down 55 to 54 with just 3.9 seconds remaining, the North Carolina basket held the ball so Syracuse returned it to the side of the court. Taisha Hyman was brought in to make the inbound pass. Dariauna Lewis was positioned just behind the basket, waiting for her pass.
Hyman had to throw the ball over a crowd of North Carolina defenders and misplaced the pass. Dariauna Lewis puts her fingertips on the ball and sends it out of bounds. Orange fouled North Carolina and sent them to the Charity Stripes, where they lost 1-2.
Syracuse got the ball back but didn’t have enough time to shoot. In the final seconds of the game, a critical error prevented Orange from winning over their top ten opponents.
“As a coach, sometimes you want to kick yourself,” said head coach Felicia Leggett-Jack on the all-important final play. “I’m afraid I sat too long on Taysha to get in there and make the pass… So this is a loss for our team, including myself.”
Georgia Woolley was the star of The Orange Show. His sophomore guard tallied a season-high 23 points, seven rebounds and one assist. Woolley he knocked down four threes on eight shots and from the field he shot 9-15.
Right behind Woolley was Daisha Fair, who had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. North Carolina State was forced to swarm the fair with defenders and take hotly contested shots whenever they had the chance. She went 6-23 off the field against the Wolfpack.
It was one of Fair’s lesser-known performances this season, and she was visibly disappointed while speaking to the media after the game. I was staring.
Fair was asked what was going through her mind after the loss during the post-match media availability.
“I’m just thinking about how I can keep getting better,” Phair replied. That’s all she told the media after the game.
North Carolina State University centers Camille Hobie and River Baldwin made the difference for the Wolfpack. Hobie and Baldwin enjoyed size advantages for most of the game, at 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-5 respectively.
Before the half, Syracuse struggled to contain the two bigs. They led the Wolfpack in points entering the half and outscored the Orange in the paint. However, some clear adjustments were made during the break and Syracuse came out of the locker room with a plan to keep them under control.
The Oranges were able to nearly even out points earned from turnovers, second-chance points, and rebounds, and were able to keep the game close or at times favorable throughout the second half.
After the match, Coach Leggett-Jacque stressed that although the loss was disappointing, playing against such an elite opponent as they did is not a mockery.
“Growing up isn’t easy. Growing up is uncomfortable. Growing up can make you feel like you’re not good enough,” said coach Leggett Jack. I thought we played against a great team, and that says a lot about what we’re trying to do here.”
Syracuse will face the Pittsburgh Panthers at the JMA Wireless Dome on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the ACC network.
