Previewing 2-0 Syracuse women’s basketball’s home tipoff vs. Canisius
Syracuse hosts Canisius Tuesday at the JMA Wireless Dome. Our beat writer has everything to know about the Golden Griffins. Zoe Xixis | Staff Photographer
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Throughout the offseason, Syracuse women’s basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack took every step to ensure the 2025-26 season would be different.
After her statistically-worst season at Syracuse, Legette-Jack brought in a haul of four transfers and focused on patching the holes that ultimately led to an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament First Round exit last season. A common mantra she’s lived by is that the Orange either won or learned; no game was truly a loss.
Through two contests in the 2025-26 campaign, her team seems to have applied those lessons. While the Orange have struggled shooting the 3, they’ve made scoring hard for weaker opponents and dominated the paint en route to a 2-0 start.
SU looks to keep that trend going when it hosts Canisius Tuesday. Here’s everything to know about the Golden Griffins (0-2, Metro Atlantic Athletic) before their bout with the Orange (2-0, ACC).
All-time series
Syracuse leads 11-2.
Last time they played
SU and Canisius haven’t played each other in over 10 years. They last met on Dec. 16, 2014, when Quentin Hillsman was the Orange’s head coach. Then-No. 19 Syracuse trounced Canisius 70-37 behind future WNBA Draft pick Alexis Peterson’s 18 points and six assists.
Syracuse shot just 31% from the field but dominated defensively in the first half. It entered the locker room up 40-15, and then narrowly outscored the Golden Griffins 30-22 in the second half for a comfortable 43-point blowout. The win was SU’s eighth in a year it went 22-10 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Griffins Report
Canisius has struggled through two games in the 2025-26 campaign. The Golden Griffins opened the year with a blowout 100-40 loss on the road at then-No. 13 Michigan before losing 70-39 at home to Eastern Michigan three days later.
It’s not a steep fall from where Canisius stood last season. The Golden Griffins went 10-21 and 1-10 in nonconference play to begin the year. They rebounded a bit in MAAC play, going 9-11, but lost to Manhattan in the first round of the conference tournament. Canisius then lost its leading scorer, Jaela Johnson, to graduation over the offseason.
Through two contests this season, the Golden Griffins have been ice cold from the field, shooting just 26%. That mark ranks 359th of 363 Division I teams, per HerHoopStats. They shot 16.7% from the field against the Eagles.
How Syracuse beats Canisius
With the way the Golden Griffins have shot the ball this season, it’d take a drastically different shooting performance to have any chance at an upset.
Syracuse has tormented opponents with its defense this season, holding visitors to under 50 points per game. It shut down Stony Brook late for a 24-point win before forcing 27 turnovers and 17 steals against UAlbany.
A similar defensive performance will be the key for the Orange against Canisius. If the Golden Griffins continue to be inefficient from the field, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. If Syracuse can clamp up like it did against Stony Brook and UAlbany, the only issue will be converting on the other end.
In both of their first two games, the Orange proved they can get buckets all over the floor. Eleven different players scored against the Seawolves. Versus the Great Danes, top scorers Laila Phelia and Sophie Burrows combined for just five points, but SU supplemented the scoring with 32 bench points.
If the Orange can do both, they should have no trouble cruising to a third straight win.
Stat to know: 39.5
Canisius ranks 358th out of 363 Division I teams with just 39.5 points scored per game this year. The Golden Griffins don’t have a player averaging more than 10 points per game and sit fifth-to-last in the nation at 26% from the field. They are also hitting 3s at just a 25.9% clip, albeit better than Syracuse’s dreadful 13.6% mark from deep.
The Golden Griffins simply haven’t been able to put points on the board effectively this season. Syracuse has made similarly inefficient squads pay so far this year, notably holding UAlbany to just 18 points through three quarters on 27.6% shooting from the field.
If Canisius doesn’t find a quick remedy against the Orange, who have allowed just 47.5 points per game — the 47th-best mark in Division I — its chances at an upset will be virtually nonexistent.
Player to watch: Irene Rey Pineda, guard/forward, No. 5
Irene Rey Pineda leads the Golden Griffins with nine points per game this year, primarily as a spot-up 3-point shooter. She’s shooting 42.9% from distance on a team-high seven attempts.
Rey Pineda didn’t start a game last year for Canisius, and hasn’t yet this season, but made 31 appearances in the 2024-25 campaign. She averaged just 2.9 points on 21.4% from deep but has quickly caught fire in her sophomore season.
While she likely won’t make her first collegiate start against the Orange, if she can get hot off the bench, she could evolve into a threat Tuesday against Syracuse.
