Syracuse pummels Georgia Tech 94-70 for biggest ACC win of season
Syracuse pounced on Georgia Tech early and never trailed en route to a 94-70 domination at home Thursday. Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
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“Punching first” has been a common mantra in Felisha Legette-Jack’s fourth season as Syracuse’s head coach. For Legette-Jack, that means her players come out with an unmatched energy. They start swinging from the opening tipoff, they take hits from opponents and stay level even when they’re hit back.
The Orange haven’t always lived up to those hopes, of course, at times lacking energy from the jump. They’ve been dealt some massive defeats because of it, but it’s come back to bite them even in the close games.
In SU’s Sunday clash with UNC, the Orange fell behind early and spent most of the second half catching up. While they eventually did, sending the game to overtime, they lacked the energy to close it out. As a result, Syracuse was dealt its fourth loss of the season.
Syracuse didn’t make that same mistake Thursday. The Orange (17-4, 7-3 Atlantic Coast) pounced on Georgia Tech (9-13, 4-6 ACC) early and never trailed en route to a 94-70 domination at home. 12 different players scored for the Orange, while Laila Phelia poured in a game-high 23, Dominique Darius added 20 and Uche Izoje tallied 17 points and 15 rebounds, her 10th double-double of the season.
The Orange’s first possession was a sign of things to come. Right off the tip, Darius swung the rock to Phelia in the right corner, who buried a triple within seven seconds. Darius then created some space for two quick mid-range jumpers and Izoje sank a layup off a smooth feed from Shy Hawkins. It launched a 9-0 run in the game’s first two minutes.
After taking a timeout, the Yellow Jackets settled down offensively. Brianna Turnage got to the cup for GT’s first points, and La’Nya Foster followed it up with another bucket to cut the lead to seven.
SU’s offense answered, though, as another Phelia bucket and a Sophie Burrows triple helped extend the lead to as much as 13. The Orange started the day 7-of-9 from the field, although they cooled down to close the frame. A four-minute scoring drought — and nine straight missed field goals — meant Syracuse led by just 10 at the end of the first quarter.
That dry spell carried over early in the second. Georgia Tech got within six at the five minute mark after the Orange started just 1-of-7 from the field. From there, though, that fortune changed quickly.
SU ended the first half on a 16-5 run, making seven of its next 12 attempts. It started with a lightning-quick 12-2 run. Phelia got downhill for a bucket before Keira Scott sank one of her own. Scott and Olivia Schmitt then bookended another Phelia bucket with back-to-back 3-pointers to put Syracuse up 36-18.
Georgia Tech chipped away with a brief 5-0 run, but a Hawkins and-one killed any momentum with a minute left in the frame. SU took a 40-23 advantage into the half, its largest lead of the game at that point.
The Orange were simply just more efficient on both ends of the floor. They shot 42.1% from the field in the frame, while the Yellow Jackets were a putrid 4-of-16. A lot of those chances came thanks to SU’s work on the glass. Despite playing a GT squad ranked top-10 in defensive rebounding, the Orange hauled in nine offensive rebounds in the first half to set up six second-chance points and 30 points in the paint.
The Yellow Jackets again clawed away to start the second half, making their first three field goals and a free throw to trim the deficit to 12. They even got within 11 after a Talayah Walker bucket with just over five minutes to play in the third. SU still wasn’t fazed. It responded with a 11-5 run in the next three minutes to retake a 17-point lead.
That advantage ballooned to a then-game-high 20 by the end of the third quarter as the Orange couldn’t miss. They shot 64.7% from the field and went 8-of-8 from the free throw line to effectively put the game away. In the final two and a half minutes, Phelia hit a 3 and a layup while Darius scored the final five points of the quarter for SU.
By the start of the fourth, Syracuse essentially had the game won. But that didn’t stop it from pouring it on. The Orange hit six of their first eight attempts, including two 3-pointers, to take a 28-point lead five minutes in. SU was in cruise control from there, shooting 71.4% from the field in the final frame.
It’s exactly what Legette-Jack wants from her team — for it to come out hot and never slow down. Her coveted energy resulted in SU’s most lopsided conference victory of the season.
