Syracuse downs Stony Brook 74-50 in season opener
After a disappointing 2024-25 campaign, Syracuse's defense excelled in its 2025-26 season opener Tuesday, holding Stony Brook to just 50 points in a 24-point win. Angelina Grevi | Staff Photographer
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Last time Syracuse welcomed Stony Brook to the JMA Wireless Dome, the Orange were reining in a new era.
Three years ago, Felisha Legette-Jack secured her first win as the Orange’s head coach with a 79-56 triumph over the Seawolves. It also marked Dyaisha Fair and Georgia Woolley’s Syracuse debuts after following Legette-Jack from Buffalo. Both played instrumental roles in leading the Orange to the NCAA Tournament Second Round in the 2023-24 season.
Fast forward to the 2025 season opener, and Legette-Jack’s Orange look completely different. For the first time in her tenure, SU’s roster has no remnants of her Buffalo days. Only one player from that March Madness run is still on the team. This season, her squad features eight new players, including four transfers.
The 2022 matchup with Stony Brook was the start of a new chapter for Syracuse. Tuesday’s matchup with the Seawolves felt like one, too. And the Orange welcomed it with a similar result.
Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) opened its season by defeating Stony Brook (0-1, 0-0 Colonial Athletic Association) 74-50 Tuesday. Led by Shy Hawkins’ 13 points and double figures from Laila Phelia, Dominique Darius and Uche Izoje, the Orange snagged their first win of the year — and Legette-Jack’s 400th of her career.
It wasn’t always as comfortable of a win as the score indicated, though. Between a game-high 22 turnovers and a historically-poor 1-of-12 performance from 3, the Orange allowed Stony Brook to work its way back into the game. SU’s lead shrank to just five in the third quarter after three consecutive 3-pointers from Stony Brook’s Janay Brantley and Caitlin Frost. Nonetheless, the Orange weathered the storm in their season opener.
“Stony Brook’s a tough team and they really challenged us,” Legette-Jack said. “But I loved our resilience, our team, we solved the fight and we didn’t back away like we did in previous years.”
In the first half, though, it never looked like the game would be a challenge for the Orange. Stony Brook’s first four offensive possessions came up empty, stifled by two blocks and a steal.
It allowed Syracuse to quickly establish a double-digit lead. A Hawkins and-1 and a Phelia layup capped a 16-6 run to begin the game for the Orange. Stony Brook shot just 2-of-9 in the span compared to SU’s 7-of-12 mark.
The quarter’s end was the only thing that helped the Seawolves stop the bleeding. They failed to score a basket for five minutes before a Brantley layup ended the drought with 16 seconds left. The Orange finished the quarter on a 18-4 run, leading 22-8.
That burst led to a then-game-high 20-point lead in the second quarter. Phelia and Hawkins traded buckets on a 9-2 run that was halted by 3-pointers from Diaka Berete and Frost. The Seawolves closed the half on a brief 6-2 run but still trailed 37-21 at the end of the frame. Ten different players contributed buckets in the first half for SU.
“Knowing the depth of this team and knowing how we’re willing to play off of each other, it’s just really exciting to have this early on,” SU forward Journey Thompson said.
The third quarter troubled the Orange, though. SU had more turnovers than points in the first three minutes of the frame, starting the half 1-of-4 from the field and 0-of-3 from distance with four turnovers. Syracuse then went scoreless for over three minutes.
Stony Brook made the most of the extra chances. Brantley and Frost’s triples capped a 9-0 run that trimmed the lead to five. Legette-Jack told her team its character was in the balance. She tweaked her defense and encouraged it to respond.
“Next thing you know it was a 20 point lead,” Legette-Jack said.
Darius and Hawkins exchanged consecutive buckets to stop the bleeding and embark on a 10-0 run. It helped the Orange restore a double-digit advantage at the end of the quarter, and Stony Brook didn’t get within 12 points again.
“We didn’t put our heads down or anything, we just kept going,” Hawkins said. “We sped the game up, we got transition layups and just got the energy going.”
Legette-Jack placed most of the credit on Hawkins, Darius and Thompson. She said Hawkins did a “ridiculous job” of playing smart basketball in the frontcourt, while Thompson dominated on the boards for the Orange.
Meanwhile, Darius had the composure SU needed as a ball-handler, Legette-Jack said. Darius said she saw a mindfulness coach Tuesday morning to help her prepare for the frustrations of turning the ball over. It worked against Stony Brook, helping her settle the Orange down in the second half.
Legette-Jack also credited Phelia for sparking Syracuse late in the game. As Stony Brook began clawing back in the fourth quarter, she canned a jumper off an inbound, then snagged a steal to set up Hawkins for a fast break layup. The sequence helped the Orange regain a 16-point advantage in the fourth quarter, their largest lead since the half.
It just kept growing from there. Darius sunk a fast break layup before Izoje scored five consecutive points. The Orange closed the game on a 6-0 run to create a game-high 24-point cushion, helping Syracuse secure its first win in its new chapter.
The Orange did it almost entirely in the paint. Due to Syracuse’s 1-of-12 mark from distance, its worst single-game performance under Legette-Jack, SU resorted to dominance down low. It ended with 54 points in the paint and 52 rebounds compared to Stony Brook’s 24 and 27.
“Leave us open, we’re gonna nail them. But when they don’t go in, we have to adjust, and we did a (good) job adjusting,” Legette-Jack said.
After the win, Legette-Jack entered the locker room, and her players greeted her with confetti to celebrate her 400th win. Having started her Syracuse tenure with back-to-back winning seasons, it’s a milestone she may have expected to accomplish last year.
This team isn’t what it was last time Stony Brook came to the JMA Wireless Dome. But with a new chapter opening in Year 4, Legette-Jack and the Orange hope it’s not the last time they get to break out the confetti.
