Observations from SU’s exhibition win vs. Daemen: Izoje thrives, height shines
Uche Izoje recorded 19 points in her first game with Syracuse, providing the Orange a spark they lacked from their bigs last season. Tara DeLuca | Contributing Photographer
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Syracuse’s 2024-25 campaign began on the heels of 24 wins — its most since 2018-19 — and an NCAA Tournament appearance. A year later, as SU’s 2025-26 season kicks off, the Orange find themselves in a contrary position — one with more questions than answers.
After winning just 12 games, the fewest since Felisha Legette-Jack took over in 2022, Syracuse added eight new players — four freshmen and four transfers — while retaining just seven. Second-leading scorer Sophie Burrows returns as SU’s cornerstone in Year 3, and Texas transfer Laila Phelia headlines the newcomers.
Even with the new-look roster, Legette-Jack’s expectations remain to win a championship. The Orange’s first step to getting there was Tuesday, when they faced Division II Daemen in a preseason exhibition game.
Although the Wildcats are a weaker opponent than those in SU’s future, the Orange signaled a shift forward. Led by Laila Phelia’s 12 points and Uche Izoje’s 11, Syracuse took a 53-33 lead into halftime. The second half was more of the same, with the Wildcats never cutting their deficit, as the Orange handily grabbed a 98-62 win.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s exhibition victory against Daemen on Tuesday:
Rotating point guards
One of the biggest questions surrounding Syracuse this year is who its floor general will be. What was once the Orange’s strongest position took a turn for the worse when Dyaisha Fair left after 2023-24, leaving Dominique Camp as its starting point guard.
As Camp struggled, averaging 4.3 points per game, Legette-Jack rotated between Olivia Schmitt and Angelica Velez. They weren’t much better, prompting Syracuse to bring in four-star freshman guard Camdyn Nelson.
Tuesday was a chance for Nelson to establish herself as SU’s go-to going forward, especially with Schmitt out with a lower-body injury. But Legette-Jack instead slotted USC transfer Dominique Darius — who she said said at ACC Tipoff could play the two — in the starting lineup.
She wasn’t in for long, though. After assisting Phelia on her first triple and committing two fouls within the first two minutes, Darius was subbed out for Velez. Velez filled her role as the floor facilitator, notching a team-leading four assists through 10 minutes.
Then, Nelson finally entered the game. The true freshman struggled early, missing her first two free throws and airballing a 3 from the left corner. At halftime, she still hadn’t found her rhythm, recording just two rebounds and one assist while scoreless.
In the second half, Legette-Jack continued to rotate her guards. Darius and Nelson played seven minutes, and Velez played eight. While Velez and Darius remained quiet, with four combined second-half points, Nelson tallied eight.
By the end of the third quarter, Syracuse began to slow possessions and run out the clock. With the season-opener on deck, it remains unclear who SU’s starting point guard is.
New backcourt chemistry
Phelia’s Texas team went to the Final Four last season. Darius’ USC squad reached the Elite Eight. They’ll try to bring the winning pedigree to SU this season — but their chemistry as the Orange’s starting backcourt clearly isn’t there yet.
Phelia got going right away. Darius, not so much. Just 43 seconds into play, Phelia nailed a corner 3 to give Syracuse a 5-2 lead. A little over three minutes later, Phelia hit another. Up to six points just four minutes in, Phelia received more pressure from Daemen’s defense, but continued to produce. Through one quarter, she led the Orange with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Phelia continued her tear in the second quarter. She was 0-for-1 from the perimeter but showed her ability to find open looks, recording six shot attempts in the second quarter. She entered halftime with a team-leading 12 points.
As for Darius, her mark was minimized after her two early fouls. Even when she did play, though, she struggled to find a spark. Through the first half of play, Darius had zero points on just one shot attempt in eight minutes. She started the second half in a similar fashion.
After a missed Daemen free throw just one and a half minutes into the third quarter, Darius had a lightly contested layup, which she missed off the wrong side of the glass. She clapped her hands in frustration. As Legette-Jack continued to give her playing time — seven minutes in the second half — little changed.
Phelia finished off her first game with SU with 17 points. Meanwhile, Darius had zero, a confusing start for what might prove to be Syracuse’s backcourt tandem in its season-opener on Nov. 4.
Uche Izoje makes her mark
Entering Tuesday, Izoje had never played basketball in the United States. Over the last two years, she starred in the Women’s Japan Basketball League, averaging 14.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
For SU, a team that lacked paint defense in 2024, Izoje was the perfect target. Standing 6-foot-3, she had the ability to stand firm against the Atlantic Coast Conference’s best while also providing a scoring ability the Orange lacked from their bigs last year. She showed it right away.
Almost three minutes into the action, Izoje kissed the ball off the glass for her first Division I points. After getting a defensive rebound on a missed 3 just one minute later, she and Phelia pushed the floor to set Izoje up for another score. Through one quarter of play, the Nigeria native had five points.
As soon as Izoje was subbed in the second quarter, she continued her tear. Following a Phelia steal, she nailed a jumper from the top of the key to give SU a 35-21 lead. Twelve seconds later, Izoje was assisted by Darius on yet another unguarded layup.
As Izoje continued to score, it looked more and more likely she’d be starting in the frontcourt going forward. She had 11 points at halftime, the team’s second-most behind Phelia (12).
In the second half, Izoje showed more control. The third quarter saw her record eight more points on four buckets.
In the fourth quarter, with Syracuse leading 78-49, Izoje’s minutes were slightly limited. She didn’t score again but still totaled 19 points, showing dominance the Orange can use in the regular season.
Height comes through
A large emphasis for Legette-Jack’s squad over the offseason was height, mostly for defensive purposes. But it doesn’t hurt when rebounding and on fast-breaks, too. The Orange’s new-look roster features 11 players standing over 6-feet, and Legette-Jack utilized that strength early on.
Syracuse’s starting lineup had just Darius below six feet, with Phelia at 6-foot, Burrows at 6-foot-2 and Journey Thompson and Izoje at 6-foot-3. It paid off right away, with the Orange outrebounding Daemen 14-8 in the first quarter.
Adding to that, Syracuse had 21 rebounds in the second quarter, a large disparity to the Wildcats’ nine. It was key in SU’s 30 first-half fast-break points. Izoje’s height helped her record all six of her second-quarter points within the paint. Meanwhile, Thompson had two close-range buckets, and 6-foot-1 Keira Scott had one.
As the second half began, Syracuse’s height advantage continued to play a pivotal role in its success. It outrebounded Daemen 25-20, scoring 24 more points in the paint.
The Orange’s advantage grew so large that their bigs did more passing and less scoring. Still, with the height Syracuse has, there’s no reason it can’t compete down low with some of the ACC’s best.
