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In Syracuse’s shootaround Sunday morning, SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack thought her team looked “flat.” Legette-Jack shared her observations with the Orange before their matchup with the Atlantic Coast Conference’s last-place team, Wake Forest.

However, the poor shooting carried over to the game. SU shot 40.7% in the first half and 2-of-7 from 3. It trailed by 12 midway through the second quarter. Legette-Jack said she called out her players’ efforts throughout the game, and she’s proud of how they responded.

“It’s a sign of a team that’s trying to get better and trying to hear what we’re trying to tell them,” Legette-Jack said postgame.

Syracuse (10-13, 4-8 ACC) secured a vital win in its path to qualify for the ACC Tournament as one of the top 15 teams in the conference standings, downing Wake Forest (8-15, 1-11 ACC) 62-50 Sunday. SU outscored the Demon Deacons 23-9 in the fourth quarter to jump up to 10th in the conference standings after entering Sunday tied for 13th.

After defeating Virginia Tech 93-87 Thursday, the win over WF is SU’s second consecutive victory. It is only the second time this season it has won two straight games, with the other run stemming from wins over inferior teams, Binghamton and Dartmouth, in December.

Syracuse didn’t score more than 15 points in the first three quarters and entered the fourth quarter trailing by two. Georgia Woolley — who scored a game-high 21 points — got inside to level proceedings. Elise Williams, WF’s leading scorer, responded with a lay-in of her own for her first and only points of the contest.

The see-saw continued when Kyra Wood banked in a floater and converted the and-one free throw to give SU its first lead of the contest, 44-43, with 7:39 left in the fourth quarter. On the Demon Deacons’ ensuing possession, Demeara Hinds, who led the team with 14 points, committed her fourth foul, heading to the bench in the waning moments.

WF’s Alyssa Andrews tied the game at 46 on a triple near the six-minute mark of the final quarter. Malaya Cowles regained its lead with a turnaround lay-in as the game approached under five minutes. The Demon Deacons finished with 36 paint points to the Orange’s 34. Though, WF didn’t take a free throw until the final minute of the game.

The JMA Wireless Dome crowd quieted as Saniaa Wilson approached the line and split a pair. SU went 12-for-15 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, allowing it to close out the win.

Sophie Burrows connected on a mid-range jumper with 4:03 left, handing Syracuse a one-point edge. The Australian couldn’t carry over her shooting form against Virginia Tech, managing 15 points on 1-of-5 3-point shooting. However, the sophomore did record 10 rebounds and five steals.

“When we’re trying to come back the defensive side of the ball is where we always make that comeback,” Burrows said postgame. “So just try to pressure the ball defensively, fly around … is where we came back into the game. I really focused on that.”

Burrows also played an important role on a Woolley triple with 2:40 left to give SU a four-point advantage, driving inside and then kicking to Woolley on the left wing.

“Sophie made a great drive, and I was waiting for the ball, and she just hit me,” Woolley said. “It’s just kind of that energy shot we’ve been working really hard on… When we’re playing like that, that shot just feels so much easier.”

Wake Forest was held scoreless from the 5:18 mark to when there were 57 seconds left in the fourth quarter. In that time, SU embarked on an 11-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a nine-point lead.

WF only mustered a pair of free throws in the final minute before sending the Orange to the charity stripe, where they went 5-for-6 in the final minute, securing the crucial win.

Syracuse’s win was powered by multiple contributors. Twelve players saw action. Legette-Jack said the one player that didn’t play, Lexi McNabb, was providing insight off the bench, including recommending SU to switch to a flex-screen offense five minutes in when it was trailing early.

Izabel Varejão also got injured in the opening five minutes of the first quarter and didn’t return. Though Burrows and Woolley led the way with a combined 36 points, Legette-Jack stressed whoever performs well in practice will get playing time. And this week, the head coach said, “Everybody seemed like they were ready to go.”

The deep rotation Sunday follows SU’s 70-67 loss versus Virginia on Feb. 2, when all five starters played more than 34 minutes and only one player off the bench, Madeline Potts, played more than three minutes.

Wednesday, Legette-Jack said it was “silliness” on her part for not using her bench to its full extent against the Cavaliers.

“That’s not our system,” Legette-Jack said. “That’s not who I am, and we didn’t utilize our bench the way we needed to. And I raise my hand on that, and we really are going to do that moving forward. I think that’s one of the reasons why we had such a downfall, is because they were tired and they’re not used to it.”

Legette-Jack adjusted Sunday. And instead of coughing up a 14-point advantage, as Syracuse did versus Virginia, it rallied from a second-quarter 12-point deficit to soar up the conference standings and inch closer to a trip to Greensboro, North Carolina, and the ACC Tournament.

For Legette-Jack, the ascension is not limited to SU’s place in the standings. It applies to her players’ development, even after they got called out for their flatness at the morning shootaround.

“It’s important that you give young people an opportunity to fly or fail,” Legette-Jack said. “And most times you give them a chance, if you believe in them, they’re gonna fly.”

Published on February 9, 2025 at 4:10 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal