Syracuse extends win streak to 4 with 88-42 rout of Colgate
Syracuse took down Colgate 88-42 Wednesday for its fourth straight win. The Orange never trailed after a 14-0 run to open the game. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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Syracuse associate head coach Natasha Adair rocked a bright green garland jacket with gold and red ornaments in the first row of SU’s bench. Beside her were coaches Khyreed Carter, whose sweater had an enlarged Santa face and Felisha Legette-Jack, with Christmas trees and stars. The Orange were in the holiday spirit, but they’d received plenty of gifts before Wednesday.
Amid its 8-1 start, Syracuse triumphed against Power Five squads in Auburn, SMU and Utah. It also took down five mid-major teams by a combined 132 points. But like a kid on Christmas morning, you can never have enough presents. Facing Colgate was another beautifully wrapped one, carefully placed under the tree.
The Raiders opened their season with four wins but lost five straight entering the JMA Wireless Dome. They’d most recently scored a season-low 41 points against UAlbany, which Syracuse thrashed 64-45 on Nov. 7.
You can guess how this story ends.
Syracuse (9-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) cruised to an 88-42 win over Colgate (4-6, 0-0 Patriot) Wednesday for its fourth straight victory. It was the Orange’s second-largest win of the season, further exceeding preseason expectations.
The Raiders, who have been defined by inconsistency, put on a putrid shooting performance, knocking down just 32% of their shots while Syracuse shot 44%. SU held a 24-5 lead after the first quarter and punctuated the effort with a 24-14 fourth.
“We’ve been building a lot of confidence,” SU guard Dominique Darius said postgame. “I always tell my team, ‘We’ve done the work.’ From my first game to now, (we’ve shown) a lot of improvement.”
Legette-Jack was the last one out of the tunnel before Syracuse’s clash with Colgate. As Adair and Carter took their seats in their aforementioned holiday gear, Legette-Jack remained standing. She gazed sternly at the Raiders’ warmup, despite her playful outfit.
After the Orange earned their largest win under the fourth-year head coach, dismantling Wagner 78-29 on Nov. 16, Legette-Jack wore a similar gaze. A win so dominant can sometimes hurt a team. Legette-Jack knows that better than most, as SU flourished in 20-plus-point wins in 2024 before stumbling against mid-major opponents and finishing 12-18. This year, Legette-Jack is doing all she can to make sure there’s no repeat.
“You’d have to remove my soul. If I’m here, there’s no complacency ever,” Legette-Jack said after the win over the Seahawks. “There’s no time for us to feel like we’ve done something until we finish. You finish at the last whistle, and the last whistle is in April.”
Facing the Raiders could’ve caused the Orange to slip up. Colgate was under the guidance of first-year head coach Shannon Bush. The scheme that transformed the Raiders’ 23-10 2024 campaign was gone. Aside from the regular scouting report, Syracuse entered Wednesday nearly blind. But it still found ways to thrive.
The Orange jumped out to a 14-0 lead, courtesy of two Sophie Burrows buckets, two from Laila Phelia, a Shy Hawkins free throw and a Uche Izoje bulldozing layup inside. Still, Legette-Jack remained stone cold, showing little satisfaction.
She leaned back in distress as Darius misfired a pass to Hawkins. Less than a minute later, she cringed as Izoje missed a free throw. You would’ve never known SU was leading 15-3. But it was. And aside from those few mistakes, the Orange were simply dominating.
“Everybody was ready to play and treat it like another game,” Darius said. “Every game is important.”
Izoje was targeted from the outset. Guarded by 5-foot-11 Abbey Ferguson, the 6-foot-3 Nigerian did whatever she wanted. She finished Wednesday’s contest with 16 points and eight boards, another scorching performance as SU’s go-to big.
Meanwhile, halfway through the first quarter, Phelia had already knocked down two 3s. Burrows added one. It was akin to SU’s performance against SMU on Sunday, when it knocked down 11 3-pointers on 28 attempts. It propelled the Orange to a 24-5 lead, limiting the Raiders to 18% shooting and just two total makes.
When the second quarter began, Syracuse deployed some unfamiliar faces. A lineup of Journey Thompson, Angelica Velez, Olivia Schmitt, Keira Scott and Jasmyn Cooper — who hadn’t appeared in a game since Nov. 30 against Howard — took the court. Nothing changed.
“That’s what you’re here for,” Legette-Jack said of all 15 players entering Wednesday’s game. “Today, when everybody’s doing as well as they did, it’s a good night.”
The Orange’s bench racked up 36 points, but when Burrows reentered, she remained ablaze.
Against the Mustangs, Burrows’ missing touch — that nearly got her benched after a 0-for-7 performance from deep against Michigan — returned. She scored 22 points on a team-high five 3s. Expected to be Syracuse’s offensive cornerstone, the junior guard underperformed, scoring in double figures in just one of SU’s first seven games. But after Wednesday, the Burrows of old may have returned.
She converted three of her first four 3-point attempts to lead the game with 11 points through the game’s first 20 minutes, guiding Syracuse’s 42-16 halftime lead.
“Sophie’s a winner. It’s been really weird her not scoring for everybody,” Legette-Jack said. “Now that the shots are falling, we think it’s an ‘oh my gosh.’ It’s not. This is what she does.”
Entering the second half, the result was all but decided. A complete destruction would’ve had to follow for Syracuse to lose. But nothing could deter its energy. It outscored the Raiders 22-12 in the third with six players scoring. In the fourth quarter, Syracuse’s bench even stood up in jubilation for most plays. Legette-Jack began to laugh.
“Everyone plays well. We have success,” Legette-Jack said. “I’m just really excited about what we’re trying to build.”
Darius walked into Wednesday’s postgame press conference wearing the same jacket Adair had flashed just minutes prior. She said Adair’s fit was too good not to show off.
But the dazzling jacket wasn’t just a fit. It was proof that the Orange keep collecting gifts every time they take the court.
“It feels great,” Darius laughed.
