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It’s no secret that this year’s Syracuse team is not the same as last year’s. None of head coach Felisha Legette-Jack’s teams are the same, in fact. She made that crystal clear after SU’s record-breaking win over Wagner last Sunday.

“All the teams we have are special,” Legette-Jack said after defeating the Seahawks. “They’re all different in their own way.”

As a head coach, Legette-Jack views herself as a “mother hen,” and she refuses to compare the merits of any of the teams she coaches. But even if she won’t admit it, it’s painfully apparent this iteration of the Orange is far more talented than last year’s.

This year’s squad cleaned up against mid-major foes — going 4-0 against them compared to 3-2 last year. It beat UAlbany handily, something last year’s team simply couldn’t accomplish. And on Friday, it defeated its first Power Five opponent of the year, while the Orange opened Power Five play last year with a double-digit loss to Maryland.

On Friday, Syracuse (5-0, Atlantic Coast) defeated Utah (3-2, Big 12) 61-49 at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Invesco QQQ Women’s Showcase. SU struggled to establish its inside scoring early, but it relied on its defense to hold Utah to a season-low 49 points, outrebounding the Utes 49-31. Dominique Darius led the way with her first double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

While it struggled to find the mark later in the half, Syracuse initially came out firing Friday. Laila Phelia knocked down a 3 to give it an early lead, and Sophie Burrows extended it by canning one of her own soon after to make it 6-0 SU.

Prior to Syracuse’s win over the Seahawks, the 3-point shot truly hadn’t been part of its game. In their 96-72 win over Canisius, the Orange outright avoided it as much as possible, shooting just nine 3s over the course of the game and failing to even attempt a shot beyond the arc in the first quarter.

But against Wagner, SU found more success beyond the arc than it had in its first three games, shooting a season-best 8-for-22 from 3. Against a Utah squad that entered Friday sporting a proficient 41.2% 3-point percentage, it was apparent the Orange had to ride that hot streak to even have a chance at victory.

So, they did. In the first quarter, the Orange were outscored 10-2 in the paint but went 3-for-9 beyond the arc to keep the game knotted at 12. It was an almost-complete reversal of the inside scoring strategy Syracuse had become so reliant on this season.

Meanwhile, the Utes executed that strategy to perfection. Uche Izoje — who’d been utterly dominant against the smaller, less-talented bigs SU had faced — began the game 0-for-4. Her Utah counterpart, Chyra Evans, started 4-for-5 with a team-leading eight points.

And while Utah opened the game on a cold streak from beyond the arc, missing its first six 3-pointers, Maty Wilke was able to break the ice with a 3 to make it 19-16 with five minutes to play until the half.

The momentum briefly shifted after that point. Syracuse went four minutes without scoring, shot 0-for-5 from the field in that stretch and went into the half trailing 25-21. Overall, it shot 7-for-34 across the game’s opening 20 minutes — and a putrid 16% on 2-pointers.

Only SU’s players and coaches were privy to what was said at the half. It’s not difficult to imagine Darius likely had some words to say. Both Legette-Jack and guard Olivia Schmitt have said that she’s become the locker room’s de facto leader, and she delivered an impassioned halftime speech to push the Orange over Canisius when the two squads played.

We may never know the words that were uttered in that brief intermission. But whatever was said, it certainly left an impression on everyone who was present.

Coming out of the half, the Orange made seven of their first 13 shots, returning to the paint scoring style that had served them so well. Between Jasmyn Cooper, Journey Thompson and Izoje, SU’s post players combined to shoot 6-for-7 and score 13 points in the quarter.

Meanwhile, Utah shot just 4-for-12 in the frame and went over four minutes without scoring. It was as if a “Freaky Friday”-esque body switch had occurred at halftime, flipping the fortunes of the Orange with that of the Utes. By the end of the third quarter, SU was up 42-39 over Utah.

But as she had done throughout Friday’s contest, Wilke came to the rescue with a 3-pointer to keep the Utes in the game. She opened the fourth quarter by hitting a shot beyond the arc, cutting Utah’s deficit to two.

That was the closest the Utes would get to even. Darius and Thompson both canned layups to extend SU’s lead to six. And when Darius sank a 3 of her own with a little under six minutes left in the fourth, it essentially sank Utah’s chances at victory with it. The Orange proceeded to go on an 11-point scoring run, taking control of the game with just minutes left to play.

There were a lot of unknowns with this year’s SU squad. Burrows was the only returning starter. Darius, one of Syracuse’s most impactful transfers, had never been given any sort of real opportunity in her time at UCLA and USC. Phelia had been an All-Big Ten player at Michigan, but there was a real possibility she wouldn’t have the same impact after her retina detachment. And Izoje — a freshman from Nigeria — doesn’t even have her high school listed on cuse.com.

It was nearly impossible to predict how this group would mesh before the season. But with five wins in five games and a gutsy comeback over a Power Five opponent under their belt, it’s no longer difficult to see the Orange’s true talent level.

Published on November 21, 2025 at 7:08 pm
Contact Mauricio: mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarDO