Syracuse feeds off 17 steals in 19-point win over UAlbany
In Syracuse’s 64-45 win over UAlbany Friday, the Orange forced a whopping 17 steals – their most in a single game since November 2022. Zoe Xixis | Staff Photographer
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On the first defensive possession of Syracuse’s matchup with UAlbany Friday, Great Danes center Gabriela Falcão dribbled to the left elbow before SU guard Laila Phelia poked the ball away. Falcão recovered, dished a short pass to Martina Borrellas and promptly received it back.
At the left wing, Falcão was quickly smothered by Syracuse guard Sophie Burrows. She tried to rip through to her right hand, but Burrows knocked the ball back toward midcourt.
Both Burrows and Phelia started to dive for the loose ball. Phelia hit the deck, forced the ball out of bounds and gave Syracuse possession.
It wasn’t at all the type of play Phelia and Burrows — who entered the season as SU’s top two offensive players — were expected to make defensively. But it’s the exact aggressiveness Felisha Legette-Jack expects of her defense every night. On Friday, they demonstrated just that.
Syracuse (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) turned in a dominant defensive display to take down UAlbany (1-1, 0-0 America East) 64-45 Friday. The Orange forced a whopping 27 turnovers, including 17 steals – their most in a single game since November 2022. Seven different SU players had multiple steals, and eight recorded at least one. Syracuse capitalized on its plus-14 turnover margin with 27 points off giveaways in the dominant win.
“Offense is going to fail you sometimes, but defense is something you can hang your hat on,” Legette-Jack said.
So far in 2025, the Orange have excelled on that end of the ball. Legette-Jack said her team didn’t defend well last season. A big part of her approach in the portal was bringing in players who wanted to defend, she said at ACC Tipoff on Oct. 6. They all looked the part on Friday.
Three minutes after Phelia and Burrows combined for Syracuse’s first takeaway of the evening, Dominique Darius hit the deck for another.
Defending UAlbany guard Delanie Hill, Darius did enough to poke the ball free as Hill tried to rip through onto her right hand. Darius promptly dove on the loose ball, winning the Orange possession after a shot clock violation.
“I’ve been on really good teams, and defense wins championships,” Darius said. “I let my game be dictated by my defense. So I try to come out and be aggressive.”
The rest of her teammates followed suit, racking up five steals in the quarter. Darius nabbed one to set up an uncontested layup three minutes in. Phelia did the same with under three minutes remaining in the quarter, leaping up to bat away a pass and scoring on the other end of the court.
Syracuse racked up another four steals in the second quarter, but tallied a game-high seven steals and nine forced turnovers in the third.
They turned those giveaways into 13 points. Four minutes into the quarter, Burrows set herself up with a steal at midcourt before converting it on the other end. Darius snagged another steal two minutes later to set up a Journey Thompson and-1.
“I think (defense is) what’s gonna win us games, that’s what’s gonna separate us from everybody else,” SU guard Angelica Velez said.
Velez snagged SU’s only steal in a fourth quarter where the Orange were outscored 27-12. But Syracuse’s 30-point cushion — fueled by its 27 points off turnovers — was plenty to take home a win.
Burrows and Velez led the Orange with three takeaways apiece, while Phelia, Darius, Uche Izoje, Keira Scott and Justus Fitzgerald all tallied two.
The defensive help came from all over the floor. While Phelia evolved into a stellar perimeter defender at Michigan, her main role with the Orange is to be a star scorer. The same goes for Burrows. If you looked at the box score Friday, though, their scoring prowess wouldn’t be evident at all. But, per Legette-Jack, they did exactly what they needed to do.
“Our two leading scorers, they had two and three points, but they were major defensively.” Legette-Jack said. “I hope that they go away understanding that defense is what they needed to bring today.”
Syracuse found its offense from other sources. SU’s top two scorers combined for just five points, and the Orange shot 2-of-10 from 3. But nearly half of their 65 points were set up by turnovers.
It may not be a sustainable form of offense. It may not be Syracuse’s most reliable route. But if the Orange can continue to play suffocating defense, it’ll create opportunities everywhere. For now, Legette-Jack and her squad know it’ll suffice.
“I want to hang my hat on the fact that we can shoot the 3-ball a lot better, but until that time comes, get some steals, get some layups, and let’s go home winners,” Legette-Jack said.
