Syracuse bullies Wagner 78-29, earns largest win of Legette-Jack era
Syracuse cruised to its fourth straight win Sunday against Wagner behind a strong defensive effort that produced its least points allowed and largest margin of victory under Felisha Legette-Jack. Griffin Uribe Brown | Social Media Editor
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It’s been consistent calmness for Syracuse so far this season — 96.6%, 89.6%, 99.1%. Those are the odds, according to ESPN, the Orange would win their first three games.
And they lived up to the hype, sailing to three dominant victories over Stony Brook, UAlbany and Canisius. That’s just how nonconference play is. For a Power Five school, nearly every matchup is meant to be a tune-up. Sunday was no different. Entering its contest with Wagner, Syracuse held a 99% chance to win, according to ESPN.
Dominique Darius and Laila Phelia had hit their stride as scorers. Uche Izoje had posted three dominant performances at the post. And Sophie Burrows had even broke her 3-point scoring drought with a triple against the Golden Griffins. With it came a winning identity.
That identity carried over to Sunday. The Orange (4-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) bullied Wagner (1-3, 0-0 Northeast) 78-29 Sunday, putting on a defensive masterclass to allow the fewest points under head coach Felisha-Legette Jack. SU also outrebounded the Seahawks 55-34 and hit a season-high eight 3s, remaining in control from start to finish.
In its 12-18 2024-25 campaign, one of Syracuse’s few bright spots was its offensive rebounding. It grabbed nearly 15 boards per game, ranking 25th in the nation, per HerHoopStats. But with the departure of Kyra Wood (6.9) and Izabel Varejão (5.0) — two of its three leading rebounders — SU’s depth was lost.
Legette-Jack made an all-out effort to get bigs to fill their void. Early Sunday, Jasmyn Cooper — making her first career start — and Izoje did that nearly perfectly. While Wagner scored the first bucket of the contest, it would be its only one until the two-minute mark of the opening quarter — partially due to Cooper’s and Izoje’s presences on the glass.
After blocking Wagner guard Priscila Varela’s shot on its second possession, Izoje pushed the pace to find Burrows for an open 3, which she couldn’t convert. Burrows’ miss, though, was rebounded by Cooper, who fed Izoje in the paint for the second-chance score.
When Darius missed a layup 21 seconds later, Izoje was there to clean up the mess, corralling the rebound to give Syracuse another chance to extend its lead. For the whole first quarter, the Orange were in cruise control.
Cooper nailed two free throws on another second-chance opportunity, and Darius intercepted Keana Foz’s pass for a fast-break layup. Each waning minute, the game progressively slipped away from Wagner. And Syracuse was forcing it in multiple ways.
Against Canisius Tuesday, the Orange abandoned perimeter shooting and attacked inside. Phelia, who ended with 22 points, even joked she wasn’t allowed to shoot a 3-pointer until perfecting her mid-range shot.
One of SU’s few woes was its production beyond the arc. The Orange had made just six total 3s, the least in the ACC, while shooting just 19.4% from distance, bottom 10 in the country. But just as Wagner thought it had Syracuse’s post game figured out, it attacked from outside.
For a three-minute stretch as the first quarter closed, both teams went scoreless. After Journey Thompson relit SU’s offense with a jumper in the paint, though, Burrows and Phelia each nailed 3s. At the end of the first quarter, Syracuse led 22-4. That margin only grew.
On SU’s fourth possession in the second, Oyindamola Akinbolawa joined the scoring barrage. She tipped in her missed shot while being fouled for a three-point play.
The rebounding onslaught then continued. Syracuse nearly doubled the Seahawks’ production on the glass in the first, and Burrows hauled in and converted a Cooper missed 3 to extend SU’s lead to 30-11.
In a season so far filled with games defined by either offense or defense, both factors simultaneously guided Syracuse’s dominance against the Seahawks. Aurora Almón, who hadn’t played before Sunday, scored her first bucket of the season. Justus Fitzgerald and Madeline Potts hit free throws.
Meanwhile, Wagner was held to 17 — the second-least points SU’s allowed in a half this season — behind 12 turnovers, 1-for-8 3-point shooting and a 21% field goal clip.
The Seahawks, however, have shown they’re a second-half team. They scored 35 of their 50 points against Rutgers in the second half, 49 of their 88 against SUNY New Paltz and 30 of their 58 against NJIT. That trend wouldn’t continue against Syracuse.
Thompson started the third quarter with a mid-range jumper. Phelia then pushed the Orange over the edge with a four-point play in front of her teammates. All nine bench players surrounded her as she fell to the ground. The momentum remained one-sided.
The Orange were clicking on all cylinders. Potts and Olivia Schmitt — who just returned from a lower-body injury — nailed 3s. Legette-Jack couldn’t help but grin as she stood against the scorers’ table.
The game was all but over after the first quarter. The second and third pushed SU’s advantage further. The fourth was all about avoiding complacency. Syracuse did that and more.
The Orange outscored the Seahawks 13-8 in the fourth, with Akinbolawa, Schmitt, Keira Scott and Camdyn Nelson each scoring.
SU showed throughout Sunday’s contest that ESPN’s odds are correct. The 1% chance Wagner was given was a nonexistent glimmer of hope. But as the tune-ups end, time will only tell if Syracuse is really as good as it’s shown so far.
