Syracuse always wants to punch 1st. VT’s hot start knocked the Orange out.
After Virginia Tech got off to a scorching start Thursday, Syracuse was stuck playing catch-up. Courtesy of SU Athletics
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Felisha Legette-Jack coaches fighters. Syracuse’s fourth-year head coach aims to instill a blue-collar identity in her squad. One that can grudge through games battered and bruised and simply outlast opponents.
After Syracuse’s win over Florida State Jan. 1, she said she’s not trying to be friends with the players she coaches. She’s going to push them to their limits to get everything out of them.
A large part of that identity is the willingness to fight, by swinging first, taking hits and playing with such an energy that it gasses out the opponent. Legette-Jack has often stressed the importance of her team landing the first punch — jumping on opponents early and never letting off the gas.
On Thursday against Virginia Tech, though, the Orange were dealt the first blow. It ended up knocking them out.
After Virginia Tech caught fire in the opening two quarters, Syracuse fell flat. The Orange (13-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) lost 77-57 to the Hokies (12-6, 2-3 ACC). While both squads traded buckets early, SU eventually couldn’t keep battling. It led for just 41 seconds the entire game as the VT offense exploded.
“Today was the first day that you saw surrender,” Legette-Jack said postgame, referring to her team’s fight.
“We just didn’t bring the energy,” she added. “We wanted them to slow down so we could be right there with them.”
Legette-Jack knew it would be that kind of high-energy, end-to-end game, though. She told her team prior to the contest that it would be a “track meet.” But for that to be the case, both teams have to keep running. Syracuse didn’t.
“One team was running, and the other team was waiting to be set up and trapped,” Legette-Jack said. “I own that, and we’ll get better for sure.”
It’s the polar opposite of what Legette-Jack has ingrained in this Syracuse squad all season. SU has already won more games than last year, and its 11-1 start was tied for the best in her tenure.
Syracuse has battled through tight games against Power Five opponents. The only downside has been that, when the Orange get hit hard, they tend to stay down — all three of their losses have been by 20 or more points.
But, even in those dark moments, they’ve shown some early fight. Against Duke, when the Orange eventually lost 71-51, they landed the first punch. SU outscored the Blue Devils 10-4 in the game’s opening minutes and ended the quarter on even terms, tied 14-14.
Of course, SU eventually crumbled down the stretch. But the early punch – even if it was a rather routine jab — kept the Orange in the game. Legette-Jack still believed her team needed to be tougher and battle through the blows.
“(Duke) punched us hard, and we backpedaled, and we never recovered,” she said following a Jan. 1 win over Florida State. “I think that I didn’t prepare us to be tough against a tough opponent, and as we move forward, lesson learned.”
Against Florida State, it seemed that lesson was applied about as well as it could have been. The Orange delivered the early blow, sprinting out to a 26-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. And although the Seminoles battered SU all evening with numerous runs, even inching within one possession on several occasions, Syracuse never trailed.
Legette-Jack praised the effort, saying her squad understands that, to compete in the ACC, it’s going to take “the whole 40-plus minutes.” The early punch still proved to be the difference. The difficult part was finding a way to hold on.
Syracuse carried the same strategy into Sunday’s matchup against a good Wake Forest squad. Although the Orange didn’t strike with as much force as Legette-Jack perhaps would have hoped, they narrowly led at the end of the first quarter and stuck with the Demon Deacons until they had the chance to pounce. That proved to be the third quarter, when SU outscored Wake Forest 23-8 en route to the win.
So, entering Thursday’s game, the Orange knew what it took to hang with a talented Virginia Tech squad. And the Orange came out swinging and scored the ball efficiently at the start. The Hokies just did it better.
After a Laila Phelia jumper appeared to set the tone on Syracuse’s first possession, Virginia Tech answered by scoring on its first four trips down the court.
Mackenzie Nelson nabbed a steal two minutes into the game and scored an uncontested bucket on the other end. Then, she drilled a deep 3-pointer two possessions later, which Carleigh Wenzel followed up with another 3 soon after. It was part of a red-hot 6-for-10 start from the field for Virginia Tech, while SU started an equally strong 5-for-9.
Syracuse answered each of Virginia Tech’s initial blows, knotting the game at 11 five minutes in. But once Wenzel’s 3 made it 14-11, the Orange never again led — or were even tied. Virginia Tech’s pace eventually wore the Orange down.
The Hokies closed the quarter on a 11-4 run to go up 22-15 at the end of the frame. But, for Syracuse, the game was lost in the second quarter.
Syracuse began the frame going a whopping seven minutes without a point. The Orange didn’t score until an Angelica Velez jumper six minutes into the frame — which proved to be SU’s only points through the first eight minutes and 58 seconds of the quarter.
On the other end, Virginia Tech kept swinging. The Hokies embarked on a 13-0 run and extended their lead to as much at 19.
A quick six-point flurry at the end of the frame helped the Orange narrow the lead, but, by the end of the half, they were on the outside looking in. They never recovered.
“Energy (was the biggest difference). (Virginia Tech) just ran and they ran and they ran,” Legette-Jack said.
Legette-Jack’s team has proven it can fight. Thursday’s pummelling is a byproduct of ACC play. Sometimes you’re going to get hit and fail to get up.
For Syracuse, it’s a lesson better learned now than later. The Orange just have to bring the energy next time around. Otherwise, it likely won’t be the last time they’re knocked out.
