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Entering Thursday’s game against then-No. 14 North Carolina, Syracuse sat on ESPN’s Bracketology on the “next four out.” By the next morning, it was in the “first four out.”

The Orange picked up the first win over a ranked opponent in the Felisha Legette-Jack era with a 75-67 win over the Tar Heels. Both teams went back-and-forth until the third quarter where Syracuse outscored UNC 31-14. Dyaisha Fair, Georgia Woolley and Dariauna Lewis combined for 57 points as Syracuse entered Sunday’s game against No. 10 Notre Dame on a two-game winning streak.

Syracuse faced ND last month, where the Orange’s fourth-quarter collapse gave the Fighting Irish a 72-56 win. This afternoon, through one period, the Orange trailed just one point, but a poor six-point second quarter put the Orange in a double-digit deficit at the half. However, Syracuse came back and took the lead, holding a small 54-52 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Notre Dame eventually just edged out Syracuse, sweeping the season series.

Here are some observations from Sunday’s game against Notre Dame:

Olivia Miles creates scoring inside

In her last outing against Syracuse, Olivia Miles accounted for 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. On Sunday, she continued to prove why she’s one of the best in the conference.

Entering with the second-most assists per game in the conference, Miles found a small passing window down low to KK Bransford. Off her dribble near the left wing, she rifled a pass cross cout and down low to Bransford on the block over the head of Asia Strong. Bransford easily scored the layup. On another play, Miles had a similar underhand pass to kick start a fast-break layup. She finished with seven assists in the afternoon.

Miles wasn’t scoring much, but still received much attention, which created scoring opportunities for other players. Miles penetrated into the lane, drawing the attention of Kyra Wood and Saniaa Wilson. Wilson left Natalija Wilson open on the left block and she scored, drawing the foul in the process. ND only shot two 3s in the first half, favoring the inside much more. On Sunday, the Fighting Irish scored 34 points in the paint.

Six points in the second quarter, comeback in the third

In the first meeting between the teams, it was the fourth quarter where the Orange fell off. On Sunday, the second quarter performance didn’t do them any favors, scoring just six points compared to ND’s 17.

The Orange just couldn’t get the ball in the basket. Woolley had a 3-pointer blocked from the right wing while Fair’s midrange jumper was too short on the fast break. Fair would score five of the six points in the period, but the team shot just 16.7% from the floor. On the other hand, the Fighting Irish shot 43% from the field and developed a 12-point lead going into the halftime break.

But it was a complete flip in the third quarter. The Orange wiped away that deficit and even retook the lead with a Kennedi Perkins fadeaway jumper. Woolley then made a baseline jumper to give Syracuse a 51-48 advantage. Lewis forced a couple of turnovers as well as Fair, Wooley and Lewis combined for 26 of the team’s 30 points in the period. The 17-5 run to close the third period helped set up a two-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, Syracuse and Notre Dame were back-and-forth throughout the first part of the period. Fair added another jumper while Miles had a fast-break layup. Miles had another fast-break play against Perkins to give ND a 66-61 lead.

Forcing the turnovers

Despite the loss, the Orange managed to force turnovers from the Irish, which finished with 13. In the third quarter, Lewis stripped the ball and went coast-to-coast on her own, getting the foul on the made layup. She converted on the 3-point play, cutting the deficit to just five. In the fourth quarter, Miles tried to pass the ball into the corner for an open shooter, but the pass was too strong, deflected and picked up by Rice.

Early in the third quarter, Rice also stole a pass from Miles and chucked it up the court toward Fair. Fair made the fast-break layup. Notre Dame committed 13 turnovers on Sunday, including four in the third quarter, which helped the Orange come back. Fair stole the ball right out Westbeld’s hand and on the ensuing play, Fair drew a foul, leading into fourth quarter media timeout as the Orange trailed 64-61.

Slowly coming back from the injuries

Ahead of the game against the Tar Heels, Legette-Jack said that Teisha Hyman was 80% healthy and contributed nine points in the upset. And Asia Strong was dressed in uniform, though did not play. On Sunday, Strong made her return, getting her first action in a few weeks. But she only played two minutes, notching zero points. Syracuse used its rotation of Lewis, Wood and Saniaa Wilson while blending in Strong sparsely. Hyman added four points in just 12 minutes of playing time.

Published on February 12, 2023 at 6:30 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini