Fill out our Daily Orange reader survey to make our paper better


women's basketball

Syracuse captures 1st ACC win with 66-61 win over Miami

Angelina Grevi | Staff Photographer

After starting the 2024-25 season 0-4 in ACC play, Syracuse captured its first conference win by defeating Miami 66-61 Sunday.

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Syracuse’s once 14-point lead was in jeopardy late in the fourth quarter against Miami.

Darrione Rogers brought the Hurricanes within four points after drilling her sixth 3-pointer of the contest. SU needed a response. It got one in a surprising way.

Sophie Burrows, who was 2-of-12 from the field, got an open look from 3 with 2:06 left in the fourth and didn’t think twice before shooting. The shot found the bottom of the net to stretch Syracuse’s lead to 59-52. SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack then called a timeout to help Burrows realize how much her shot mattered to the team.

“She’d been struggling the whole game,” Legette-Jack said, “That’s when she became free, and we really kind of celebrated her success, which we know she can do.”



The 3 lifted Syracuse (7-9, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) to a 66-61 win over Miami (11-5, 1-4 ACC), securing its first ACC victory this season and snapping a three-game losing streak. The Orange had a dominant bench performance, with reserves scoring 34 points. After missing the last two games due to injury, Kyra Wood scored a team-high 18 points off the bench. Meanwhile, Angelica Velez tied her season-high with eight points. Now, Wake Forest is the only ACC team without a conference win this season.

After SMU’s Nya Robertson hit a game-winner on Jan. 9, the Orange didn’t allow another top scorer to hurt them again. Syracuse slowed down the ACC’s sixth-leading scorer, Haley Cavinder, and its own star, Georgia Woolley hit six free throws in the final minute to help SU earn the victory.

“(Haley) still had 17 points, but I think that a lot of other people had to step up, and we really played team defense, and that showed,” Woolley said.

Early on, SU focused its scoring in the paint. Journey Thompson dropped a pass off to Izabel Varejao for the Orange’s first points before Thompson scored a layup of her own. Wood then came off the bench and scored four quick points to put Syracuse ahead 8-5 at the 3:45 mark of the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Miami started 1-of-5 with two turnovers and the Orange prevented second-chance opportunities. Taking charge on defensive boards has been a weak point for SU this season, but it’s shown promise lately. Despite falling to SMU, it outscored the Mustangs 25-9 in second-chance points, guided by its 26 defensive boards.

Between its strong defensive rebounding and Miami’s early turnover struggle, Syracuse took a 10-5 lead. With under three minutes in the first, Natalija Marshall coughed the ball up and Velez took it the other way before finding Georgia Woolley for a mid-range jumper. Moments later, after a turnover by Hanna Cavinder, Woolley nailed another jumper.

Less than a minute into the second quarter, Wood scored her third basket inside, propelling SU to a 19-12 lead. Syracuse continued to pour the ball inside, scoring 14 of its first 23 points in the paint.

Miami got off to a slow start on offense and Haley, who averaged 17.9 points per game entering Sunday, went scoreless in the first quarter. Her first points came on an and-one layup two minutes into the second.

That layup was the start of her five points in the middle of the second quarter. But SU’s bench responded. Saniaa Wilson backed down her defender and scored in the paint to give Syracuse a 25-19 lead.

Minutes later, Velez hit an and-one in the lane giving her six first-half points. She hit the free throw to increase Syracuse’s lead to 10 points. With 15 seconds left, Wilson worked her way to the stripe and converted two tries, and Miami matched with two points.

Behind 18 points from its bench in the first half, they took a 31-23 lead into the break. The Hurricanes, who also entered the contest on a three-game losing streak, shot 30% from the field in the first half and Syracuse feasted off their miscues with 17 points off turnovers.

Out of the break, instead of playing Dominique Camp, who had no points and two turnovers in the first half, Syracuse went with its hot hand at point guard. Velez drove the lane and converted a layup on its first possession, bringing her tally to eight points. Velez, who transferred from LSU ahead of the season, has had to play a different role throughout the season but has been playing her best over the last four games.

“Throughout the whole time I’ve been here, my teammates have instilled confidence in me to just be the point guard and so has coach Jack,” Velez said. “(They have allowed me) whenever I come in the game just to be me and be free.”

However, after the Orange’s quick deuce, the Hurricanes got hot.

Hanna found her sister, Haley, inside and Darrione Rogers nailed Miami’s third 3 of the contest. Miami cut its deficit to three points before Syracuse regrouped for a run of its own.

Woolley orchestrated a layup by Varejao inside and then Sophie Burrows scored her first points, which were in the paint, too. SU’s run widened its cushion to 37-30.

After Miami committed 12 turnovers in the first half, it committed seven in the second half. With a cleaner offense, the Hurricanes cut the Orange’s lead to just two points.

With the score the closest it had been since early in the first half, SU kicked into another gear. Behind an eight-point burst by Wood, Syracuse went on an 11-1 run to end the third quarter, catapulting it into a 50-38 lead.

In the first two minutes of the fourth, the Hurricanes turnover issues returned as Hanna and Rogers gave the ball up. With SU ahead by 14, Miami converted its third turnover of the frame before hitting its first basket.

Miami climbed back one last time using a 10-2 fourth-quarter run, but SU slowed it down with scoring of its own. Despite struggling to shoot for most of the game, Woolley and Burrows stepped up in the final moments, helping the Orange end their three-game losing streak.

“Our better days are ahead of us,” Legette-Jack said. “This is a good day to start.”

banned-books-01





Top Stories