When Syracuse needed a spark against Miami, Sophie Burrows stepped up
In a game where Syracuse freshman Uche Izoje had one of her worst shooting performances of the season, Sophie Burrows picked up her slack with 21 points to help defeat Miami. Courtesy of SU Athletics
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Sophie Burrows knew if her name was called on, she’d need to come through. Miami’s focus Sunday centered on Uche Izoje, Syracuse’s 6-foot-3 center, who crowds the national spotlight each week. But if Izoje was stifled — which she was — someone else had to step up.
“We talked about it in practice leading up to this game that (Miami) was gonna clog the paint,” Burrows said. “(Uche) brings people in, so I just came into the game knowing I needed to be ready to shoot and knock them out when I needed to.”
That’s exactly what Burrows did. A slow first half, in which she played just 11 minutes and tallied five points, contributed to SU’s narrow six-point halftime lead. But in the final 20 minutes, Burrows surged for 16 points, four 3s and five rebounds, providing reinforcement when Izoje couldn’t find a rhythm.
Burrows ultimately willed the Orange (18-4, 8-3 Atlantic Coast) to their second straight win, a 65-60 victory over Miami (12-10, 4-7 ACC) in Coral Gables. Even when the Hurricanes cut Syracuse’s lead to as little as five in the fourth quarter, Burrows all but iced the game with two free throws with 21 seconds left.
“I just want to win,” Burrows said. “Just do whatever I need to do for the team to win.”
For a Syracuse squad that has won most of the games it’s supposed to — aside from maybe a 20-point loss to Virginia Tech — Miami posed an inconspicuous challenge. Its record was 12-9 and, more importantly, 4-6 in ACC play. But it downed VT by eight, put up a respectable fight against then-No. 10 Louisville and, at times, looked capable of pulling off an upset over a ranked Duke squad.
Miami’s identity is built inside, where 6-foot-6 sixth-year center Ra Shaya Kyle has imposed her will on nearly every big she’s faced, including the Blue Devils’ Toby Fournier, who had no trouble handling SU’s frontcourt. Kyle’s stature and talent — 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 56.9% shooting — is why Burrows and Co. were prepared to step in if needed.
Kyle was one of the toughest battles Izoje has fought this year, and it showed. Izoje finished 3-of-12 from the field for just six points and fouled out in the fourth quarter. It was her most inefficient and third-lowest-scoring output of the year — her worst since SU’s ACC opener against SMU on Dec. 7, 2025.
But Syracuse somehow held a six-point halftime lead. The Orange were shooting 26.3%, and Izoje repeatedly failed to answer Kyle, scoring just two points in the first 20 minutes. But a lead is a lead.
In the second half, though, it began to slip. That’s when Burrows made her presence felt.
Burrows said postgame that SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack often tells her team to “stay level, never too high and never too low.” When the layups weren’t dropping, the Orange looked to the perimeter — especially Burrows.
Her four second-half 3s nearly matched Miami’s total (six), and besides Laila Phelia’s 13 points, Burrows was the game’s only scorer to drop double figures in the second half.
The barrage started nearly five minutes into the third quarter. Burrows had already scored a deuce to open the half, and when Izoje hauled in a rebound off a missed jumper from Miami’s Soma Okolo, Burrows was already parked at the left sideline, passionately waving both hands in the air.
Izoje didn’t see her, but when Phelia received Izoje’s pass and drove inside, she connected with Burrows, who, with no hesitation, buried the corner triple to give SU an eight-point lead.
Burrows had one last chance to bring her third-quarter point total to eight in the waning moments of the frame. Standing in the same spot as before, Burrows sank her third 3 of the afternoon to extend SU’s lead to 10 points.
Things got dicey in the fourth quarter, but Burrows steadied the ship. The Hurricanes cut their deficit to five, and even Burrows, who’d committed a turnover, a foul and missed a shot, had petered out. It seemed Miami would string a comeback.
But then, as she’d done in the third quarter, Burrows came through. She took the ball up the court, pulling up at the left wing to beat Kyle’s close-out to, again, cushion SU’s lead.
The punctuation on Burrows’ outing came with 5:29 to go in the fourth quarter. Syracuse’s lead had ballooned to 16 points, and with Burrows scorching, little would stop her.
Phelia drove inside, drawing in Miami’s Gal Raviv and Burrows’ primary defender, Vittoria Blasigh. When Blasigh realized Burrows had drifted to the top of the perimeter, past a waiting Phelia screen, there was nothing she could do.
Burrows stepped back, unloaded and sank her fifth 3 of the afternoon, tied for her second-most in a game this season.
The junior is just one piece of the Orange’s puzzle, but when she’s playing her best, SU can, too. She put that on display Sunday, becoming the spark plug Syracuse had been searching for.
