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In the first half of Syracuse’s game against No. 10 Notre Dame, the Orange kept the Fighting Irish close.

There were nine lead changes and four ties throughout, placing the score at 21-20 after one quarter. In the opening quarter, Syracuse forced nine Notre Dame turnovers.

Though SU turned the ball over seven times in the second quarter, Notre Dame pushed its lead to seven at half after a lower-scoring second quarter. What’s more, Syracuse held Notre Dame’s reigning Associated Press All-American point guard Hannah Hidalgo to nine first-half points.

However, once the second half started, the Fighting Irish kicked into another gear and Syracuse (4-6, 0-1 ACC) had no response. Notre Dame (7-2, 1-0 ACC) outscored the Orange 29-13 in the third quarter, putting it on course for its 93-62 victory Sunday.

During the third quarter, ND shot 64.7% from the field while Syracuse knocked down only 25% of its shots. On 3-point shots, the Fighting Irish converted on 3-for-6 while the Orange couldn’t make any of their four attempts.

“Every time we reached, they made us pay dearly,” Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said of her team’s defensive breakdown in the third quarter. “We came out the third quarter and just reached like crazy.”

Legette-Jack added that it was going to be “horrible” watching the game film, but said it’s important the team watch it so SU can improve.

Hidalgo netted Notre Dame’s first points of the second half on a driving layup after Angelica Velez tried to steal the ball and Hidalgo beat her to finish the floater. On the next possession, Sonia Citron received a pass in the right corner. Citron pump faked, getting SU’s Georgia Woolley to jump, then the Notre Dame guard readjusted her feet and swished the triple.

Just like that, a minute into the third quarter, the Fighting Irish’s lead was 12.

Syracuse answered with six straight points to trim the lead to eight through a pair of Keira Scott free throws and two Woolley driving layups. But starting at the 6:36 mark, Notre Dame embarked on an 18-2 run and its lead ballooned to 61-37 late in the third quarter.

The run started when ND’s freshman center Kate Koval got fouled inside and cashed in both attempts from the line. Koval scored six points in the third, taking advantage of SU’s weakness down low.

Syracuse forward Kyra Wood, who is second on the team with 11.4 points per game and averages a team-high 7.1 rebounds, only played 10 minutes and didn’t play in the second half, attenuating the Orange down low. Legette-Jack called Wood a “vital” person for Syracuse, and said she tried to play in the second half but couldn’t.

“She’s got a 6-(foot)-9 wingspan, she can keep the ball alive, she can slow the game down,” Legette-Jack said of Wood’s absence. “She brings that experience with her, and her not being out there was troublesome.”

Further, Legette-Jack said center Izabel Varejão, who she described as “one of the best post players in the conference,” is still dealing with headaches and SU can’t play her as many minutes as it would like.

However, it wasn’t just inside that Notre Dame heated up; it got Hidalgo going from outside. ND’s Olivia Miles, who had eight assists, dished it to Hidalgo on the left corner and the sophomore sank her first 3 of the game and eclipsed the 1,000 career points mark. Twenty seconds later, Hidalgo was on the end of a layup to push ND’s lead to 15.

Miles sank a pull-up from mid-range before Keira Scott ended SU’s near-three-minute scoring drought. Legette-Jack said part of the reason Syracuse couldn’t gain any offensive traction was that the team is still searching for a reliable point guard. Freshman Olivia Schmitt has started twice, while fifth-year senior Dominique Camp and LSU transfer Velez have started four times.

On the other end, all three of the Fighting Irish’s guards — Hidalgo (24), Miles (20) and Citron (25) — scored more than 20 points and managed more than 10 rebounds while Miles had a triple-double with 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

Legette-Jack praised Woolley for stepping up to be the Orange’s ball carrier for long swaths of the second half, even if SU’s offense struggled. Schmitt attempted a shot at the 3:37 mark that was short, then reached to try to steal the ball from Miles. Miles drove down the court and swung a pass to Citron in the corner, and she knocked down the 3, boosting ND’s advantage to 20.

With 1:29 left in the quarter, Notre Dame wasn’t done piling on the points. Citron missed a 3, but Emma Risch grabbed the rebound and Hidalgo eventually drew a foul and made two free throws. Burrows ended the lopsided run at the 1:04 mark, scoring an and-one layup for Syracuse’s first point since 4:13 remained in the third.

On ND’s next possession, Woolley and Camp seemingly cornered Citron on the sideline near halfcourt. But both Syracuse players lunged for the ball, falling to the court and Citron turned to find Miles making a run to the paint, which was uncovered.

Coming out of halftime, Notre Dame led by seven. By the end of the quarter, Notre Dame’s advantage had stretched to 23 at 65-42. From there, the fourth quarter was perfunctory. The game had been decided once Notre Dame showed what it was capable of and exposed SU’s weakness in the third quarter.

“We showed we can play a half with the No. 10 team in the country,” Legette-Jack said. “We got to keep putting the halves together and keep fighting.”

Published on December 8, 2024 at 4:27 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal