Syracuse thrashes UAlbany 64-45 behind defensive dominance
Syracuse moved to 2-0 on the season with a convincing win over UAlbany on Friday, propelled by Dominique Darius' 13 points and 27 forced turnovers. Zoe Xixis | Staff Photographer
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Felisha Legette-Jack blankly stared forward. She was utterly distraught. It was Nov. 20, 2024, and Syracuse had just dropped to 2-3, its worst start to a season since 2021-22.
Even worse, the Orange did it in embarrassing fashion. After leading UAlbany by 10 through one quarter, their advantage shrunk to one at halftime. Then, with 3.5 seconds left, the Great Danes’ Lilly Phillips nailed a corner 3 to hand Syracuse a 73-70 upset defeat.
“I’m gonna say it on record, the better team didn’t win today. The more prepared team won today,” Legette-Jack passionately said following the loss.
A year later, Legette-Jack’s current message reflects that moment — all about preparing and responding. Guard Dominique Darius said after dominating Stony Brook Tuesday that Legette-Jack always looks ahead. Facing UAlbany Friday was SU’s chance to show its growth since last year’s early-season stumble.
The Orange did that and more. Uche Izoje led the way with 14 points, while their defense surrendered just 45 points, SU’s fewest allowed since Nov. 7, 2023. It boosted Syracuse (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) to a commanding 64-45 win over UAlbany (1-1, 0-0 America East), a polar opposite of last season’s misstep.
“We just trying to be better than we were before,” Angelica Velez, one of seven SU returners from last season, said postgame. “This team is a way different team than we were last year, so we approach things differently.”
Legette-Jack wasn’t just upset with her team’s performance last year, but also with their lack of support. Minutes after stepping into the press room, Legette-Jack made remarks that “nobody cared about our program.” She said her team would “rise above it all,” but they did no such thing, accumulating just 12 wins — a new low under the then-third-year head coach. Her statement even warranted an apology.
This year’s squad is entirely different, though. Eight new players. A general manager. A new associate head coach. It’s a different era for Legette-Jack and Co. Friday showed it’s a progressive one.
Even when Sophie Burrows and Laila Phelia, who Legette-Jack called Syracuse’s “leading scorers,” struggle — which they did Friday with two and three points, respectively — the Orange showed they can prevail. Izoje, Darius (13) and Velez (10) were all in double figures, while six other players scored.
“It doesn’t matter who we play,” Velez said. “We play our game, and that’s what we did today.”
Through five possessions Friday, Syracuse was far from playing its game, though. The Orange had a turnover and four missed shots and were searching for a lifeline. Darius gave them it.
After knocking down two free throws, Darius put SU on her back. She forced a turnover from UAlbany guard Lara Langermann, taking it the other way for an easy layup to give the Orange their first lead. She then recorded an assist on Izoje’s ensuing bucket before driving in for one of her own.
By the first media timeout, Darius’ exhibition performance last week — when she recorded zero points and showed little cohesion with Phelia in the backcourt — was a distant memory. She’d recorded six of the Orange’s opening eight points with a rebound, assist and steal.
“I know my aggression ultimately helps the team and opens the floor for everyone else,” Darius said postgame. “That’s really my mindset every time (I have the ball).”
When Darius was subbed out for Velez with about three minutes left in the first, Syracuse looked elsewhere for a spark. It couldn’t quite find an answer. Phelia committed a turnover, and Burrows missed an open layup and 3.
But SU’s defense fluently contained UAlbany, surrendering just four points after 10 minutes, its fewest allowed since the fourth quarter against Pitt on Feb. 25, 2024.
“We want to come out punching and swinging and not waiting to be punched first,” Darius, one of seven players with a steal, said. “Having that mentality is gonna win us big games and take us far in the season.”
Even when the Orange did falter defensively, the Great Danes couldn’t make them pay. Though it finished 9-of-14 from the line, UAlbany was just 1-for-4 on free throws midway through the second.
The onslaught had just begun. It continued, as Syracuse forced 15 turnovers and slowed the Great Danes to zero fast-break points, leading 27-10 at halftime.
A 20-minute break couldn’t flip the momentum. It did rile up Izoje, though, who took Darius’ mantle as SU’s leading scorer. Standing 6-foot-3 with no one on the Great Danes taller than 6-foot-1, Izoje did whatever she wanted.
She opened the second half with five straight buckets, raising her two first-half points to 12 in mere minutes. The Great Danes had no answer, and Syracuse’s energy intensified.
“They just love each other,” Legette-Jack said. “For (Uche) to have that success, they just saw their sister coming out of that struggle. It was impactful for the young lady’s life.”
Burrows joined Izoje with a fastbreak layup before Journey Thompson went on a personal 5-0 run as the third quarter wound down. The Orange’s lead only expanded, outscoring UAlbany 25-8 in the quarter.
SU had shot over 40%, grabbed 15 steals and had eight scorers. The final 10 minutes were about not getting complacent, something former Syracuse guard Georgia Woolley reiterated last year after the Orange’s loss to the Great Danes.
While UAlbany scored 27 points in the fourth, a stark contrast to its 18 through three quarters, it wasn’t enough to overcome Syracuse’s dominance. Once trailing 2-1, the Orange never looked back.
As Legette-Jack rose to her feet when the clock expired, it was a contradictory scene from a year ago. This time was far from embarrassing. SU had officially prepared and responded, and its improvement was as clear as could be.
