Syracuse women’s basketball downs Howard 78-62, improves to 6-1
Syracuse got production from all over in its 16-point win over Howard, including Shy Hawkins' 10 points in her first start, to rebound from its most recent loss to Michigan. Zoe Xixis | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse’s 81-55 loss to No. 6 Michigan last Sunday was a reality check.
After starting the season 5-0 for the first time since 2017-18, which included four wins over fellow New York foes and a gritty victory over Utah, SU crashed back to earth against the Wolverines. From their 23 turnovers to a 6-for-22 3-point mark, the Orange weren’t ready for their first true test in head coach Felisha Legette-Jack’s fourth season.
Last Sunday proved Syracuse has a ways to go before truly competing with the cream of the crop in Division I and returning to March Madness. But this Sunday, the Orange had a get-right opportunity against Howard before taking on Auburn Wednesday in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
While the Bison started the season 4-0, they’ve gone 2-2 since, including a 30-point loss to Purdue in their second Power Five contest of the year Wednesday. Howard’s pitiful performance against the Boilermakers gave Syracuse a prime chance to improve to 6-1.
Would SU take advantage of Sunday’s contest or fall victim to a trap game?
It wasn’t always pretty, but Syracuse capitalized on its get-right game. The Orange (6-1, Atlantic Coast) downed Howard (6-3, Mid-Eastern Athletic) 78-62 Sunday behind 34 combined points from Laila Phelia and Uche Izoje, along with improved shooting efficiency. SU shot 51% against the Bison, its best mark since shooting 54% on Nov. 11 versus Canisius.
“We have a go-to team, everybody’s ready to step up, whether it’s in the paint, whether it’s shooters outside,” Syracuse point guard Angelica Velez said postgame. “Everybody being able to step up and do their job and the energy of the defensive end, that’s what makes this team so special.”
Against Michigan, Syracuse struggled mightily in the first quarter. Not only did it score just six points, but it also went scoreless for the last four-and-a-half minutes of the frame.
The start of the game versus Howard looked eerily similar. From missed layups to turnovers, SU couldn’t find its rhythm out of the gate. It took nearly four minutes for Syracuse to notch its first basket, coming from Sophie Burrows.
But as soon as SU’s offense found its footing midway through the quarter, so did Howard’s. The two teams traded buckets before Keira Scott came off the bench and drained two jumpers to give Syracuse a 12-9 lead, one it wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the contest.
After averaging 4.8 points per game as a freshman last season, it was unclear as to what role Scott would have in Syracuse’s offense as a sophomore. Despite playing just 10 minutes across two games at the Invesco QQQ Women’s Showcase last weekend, she made the most of her 10 minutes against the Bison to help the Orange extend their slim lead.
SU led 19-13 after the first quarter, with Phelia pacing it with six points. Yet, Howard was within striking distance with its aggressive play style and relentless motor on rebounds.
Syracuse’s offensive shortcomings in the first vanished in the second, though.
A Journey Thompson layup. A Shy Hawkins layup. A Phelia 3. Syracuse started pulling away and began to look like the Syracuse of its first five games — a team that pushed the pace in transition and took smart shots.
Izoje was SU’s third-leading scorer with over 11 points per game entering Sunday, and her 20 against the Bison were a career-high. It quickly became her show in the second quarter, powering the Orange with seven straight points and extending their lead to double digits.
Velez also shined in the frame. Instead of looking inside to score, she dished the ball out often, tallying eight of her game-high nine assists in the half. Her first-half assist total nearly matched her career-high of 10 from last season’s matchup with Florida State on Jan. 5.
Syracuse ended the second quarter how it started: playing disciplined basketball and turning Bison turnovers into points. It led 37-24 at halftime.
Burrows began to take control in the third quarter. It’s been an immensely underwhelming junior campaign for the Australian thus far, as she entered Sunday shooting just 27.5% from the field. But she notched two buckets immediately after the break to keep SU’s double-digit lead intact.
“When (Sophie) hit that 3, I think that really solidified a little bit about what I needed to see — that thing go through net,” Legette-Jack said of Burrows’ triple.
Midway through the third, the Orange kept pulling away. Phelia drained a jumper to give SU a then-game-high 17-point advantage, while Izoje continued to make her ferocious presence felt with a block.
Yet even with Syracuse mounting a significant lead, the Bison kept answering late in the quarter. A 10-2 Howard run cut SU’s advantage to 10 with under a minute remaining in the frame, as Zennia Thomas added six points before Burrows stopped the bleeding with another 3 with 24 seconds left in the quarter.
Zoe Stewart and Thomas gave SU problems all afternoon, and that didn’t change early in the fourth. Thomas cut Syracuse’s lead to 16 with a layup before Stewart splashed a triple that made it 64-51. Even in the loss, Thomas, Howard’s leading scorer, tallied a game-high 24 points.
Whenever Howard looked to be cutting into its deficit, Syracuse responded rapidly. Thompson extended SU’s advantage back to 16 at 68-52, and SU’s quick responses led to its sixth double-digit victory of the season.
Even in their 61-49 win over Utah on Nov. 21, the Orange shot a pitiful 32% from the field. Shooting 51% on Sunday was a major step in the right direction. But it doesn’t mean this type of performance is sustainable against ACC foes, as Syracuse looked sloppy and committed careless turnovers all afternoon.
Still, a win is a win, and Legette-Jack can go to bed happy knowing her squad is three games better than it was last year at this time.
“I think we celebrate wins for a short amount of time; I think this game shows a lot we can work on in practice looking forward,” Thompson said.
