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DULUTH, Ga. — When Syracuse met Louisville in February, SU had a disastrous start. The Orange didn’t make a single field goal in the first quarter, ultimately falling into a 22-point hole they never dug out of.

The only reason, really, that the Orange stayed in the game was because of a lights-out second quarter, primarily fueled by Dominique Darius. She scored 16 points on perfect efficiency to cut the lead to single digits. And while SU ultimately lost to the No. 8-ranked Cardinals by 19, there was some optimism — if the Orange could get going a little quicker, maybe they could beat the nation’s best.

On Friday, in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, Syracuse had a chance to do so. But again, it flailed early. And this time, there was no Darius to bail it out. The Orange, in turn, bowed out of the tournament.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (23-8, 12-6 ACC) 87-61 loss to Louisville (26-6, 15-3 ACC) in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals:

Replacing Darius

Syracuse is a different team when Darius isn’t on the court. It’s plain and simple. Thankfully for the Orange, they haven’t dealt with that reality often this campaign. The guard didn’t miss a game in the regular season.

In the third quarter against Cal Thursday, though, Darius collided with Mjracle Sheppard while leaping for a cross-court pass. Darius stayed down for a while before eventually limping to the locker room. She didn’t return, and Syracuse’s offense looked stagnant in her absence before Uche Izoje eventually took over.

On Friday afternoon, SU announced Darius would miss the remainder of the tournament with a left hand injury. Beating Louisville was already going to be difficult, but being without Darius probably tripled the magnitude of the task. Syracuse was without its best ball handler and one of its best offensive weapons.

Olivia Schmitt made her first start of the season in place of Darius. She played 21 minutes and scored three points on 1-of-6 shooting. After missing her first attempt, Schmitt was pulled for freshman Camdyn Nelson, but she wasn’t any better. Angelica Velez, another option at point guard, played just seven minutes.

SU actually looked best when the Orange didn’t have a point guard on the court. When they threw out a five of Laila Phelia, Maddy Potts, Jasmyn Cooper, Sophie Burrows and Izoje, they outscored Louisville 6-2.

But, most of the time, Syracuse’s offense turned into “give the ball to Phelia and pray.” She played 29 minutes and took 14 attempts, but finished with just six points. Without Darius to complement her in the backcourt, the Orange stalled.

Do you get deja vu?

When Syracuse and Louisville met at the JMA Wireless Dome in February, the Orange had a historically terrible first quarter. They failed to make a field goal and scored just six points, all off free throws. It led to a 28-6 Cardinals lead at the end of the first quarter. And, despite actually outscoring Louisville 59-56 the rest of the way, SU’s fate was sealed after the first frame.

Syracuse needed a hot start to have any chance Friday. Instead, it was run out of the gym again. The Orange were outscored 25-10 in the first quarter, shooting 35.3% from the field to Louisville’s 68.8%.

While SU scored a few field goals this time around, it took a while for it to get one to fall. The Orange went scoreless for the first four minutes and 31 seconds — going 0-for-6 from the field — before Phelia’s floater swished. Meanwhile, Louisville took an 8-0 lead.

Out of a Felisha Legette-Jack timeout, Izoje began heating up to close the quarter. She scored six points in the final two minutes to give SU some life, but again, a slow start hurt the Orange late.

Izoje steadies the Orange

Without Darius, Syracuse needed monster performances from its other leading scorers in Phelia and Izoje. And in one of the final games of her transcendent freshman campaign, she pulled the weight for SU.

Izoje dropped 22 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting. But that’s just another day at the office for the ACC Rookie of the Year.

After Izoje got on the board with six straight buckets at the end of the first quarter, she took over in the second. First, she knocked down a turnaround jumper at the 7:20 mark before cleaning up a second-chance layup and finishing in transition on the next two possessions. In total, Izoje had 10 points in the second quarter and 16 in the first half.

While SU tried to keep up in the second half, Izoje and Burrows paced the Orange. Izoje scored six points in the second half, although Syracuse never really pulled within striking distance.

Izoje picked up a lower-body injury that kept her sidelined for most of the fourth quarter. She emerged from the locker room with about seven minutes left but barely played after that, as the Orange trailed by 21 at that point.

3-ball won’t fall

The 3-point shot hasn’t really ever been a major part of SU’s game this season. The Orange far prefer the interior game, whether through Izoje or with their guards attacking the rim.

But, when you’re dug into a 20-point hole at the end of the first quarter, it certainly helps your chances if the 3s are falling. For Syracuse, they wouldn’t. The Orange shot 4-of-25 (16%) from deep. SU’s deep threats in Burrows and Potts shot just 2-of-14 combined.

Louisville only shot the deep ball 17 times but hit seven 3s at a 41.2% clip.

The Orange used some inside scoring and a Burrows triple that rattled around the rim to get within 10 in the third quarter. But, as Louisville continued churning offensively, SU’s inside presence couldn’t keep doing the heavy lifting. And as it went 1-of-8 from deep in the fourth, Syracuse never really had a chance to get back into the game late.

Published on March 6, 2026 at 6:58 pm
Contact Harris: harrispemberton@gmail.com | @HarrisPemb6