Syracuse overcomes Laila Phelia’s absence, downs Stanford 69-58
Despite missing leading scorer Laila Phelia due to injury and Dominique Darius briefly exiting, SU never relinquished its halftime lead. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor
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The stakes are high for Syracuse — higher than they’ve been in a long time. Felisha Legette-Jack wants the rest of the world to recognize her team’s talent. She knows her players deserve an opportunity to be viewed as greatness. She said it’s a shame that if her team doesn’t go “dancing,” no one will hear their “great stories.”
“It doesn’t matter until it gets somewhere,” Legette-Jack said. “Then (the world’s) gonna realize why I come to work, and I’m skipping sometimes.”
There’s noise surrounding the Orange. Freshman center Uche Izoje is garnering national attention. Dominique Darius is making each game “her moment.” Based on Syracuse’s first 18 games, it made perfect sense that Legette-Jack metaphorically skipped to work in joy each day.
However, faced with its most adversity of the season Sunday, it looked like the skipping would stop. SU was without leading scorer Laila Phelia after she suffered a lower-back injury in its victory over Cal. She was listed as a game-time decision, but Athletic Trainer Karen McKinney confirmed to Legette-Jack Sunday morning that she wouldn’t be ready.
It was a blow Syracuse hadn’t been dealt all year. The odds looked especially bleak, considering SU’s opponent in Stanford was 15-4, accumulating two ranked wins and averaging over 70 points per game. Matching the Cardinal’s high-powered offense wouldn’t be simple.
It required balance, which the Orange found in familiar names Darius and Izoje, as well as lesser-known ones like Shy Hawkins and Journey Thompson. The four efficiently set Syracuse (16-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast) up for its most impressive win of the season, a convincing 69-58 victory over the Cardinal (15-5, 4-3 ACC) in the JMA Wireless Dome.
According to Sports Reference’s Simple Rating System metric — which accounts for average point differential and strength of schedule — the win is SU’s first this season versus a team with an SRS over 20. In other words, when faced with its largest challenge, the Orange rose above it.
“We all can step up and help each other out and fulfill what needs to be done when a teammate’s down,” Darius said. “That’s gonna happen throughout the season. We just proved that we’re a great team, and that we’re always gonna have each other’s back.”
Amid a devastating injury to Phelia and nearly another one that occurred late in the third quarter to Darius — which required her to briefly exit the game into the locker room — Legette-Jack was focused on the present. She, alongside the rest of her coaching staff, couldn’t take their eyes off the tunnel when Darius exited.
But after the 11-point win over an upward-trending Stanford squad, in which Darius returned, scored 12 more points and said she was no longer in pain, Legette-Jack is willing to look forward.
“It’s our word for the year. It’s resolute. It’s unwavering,” Legette-Jack said. “For 40 minutes, we can be the best team. Let’s be unwavering.”
“We’re a really deep team,” Burrows added when asked if SU can return to March Madness. “At any given moment, anyone can go off. We work really well as a team. We play with each other’s strengths.”
Dominique Darius scored a career-high 26 points in the Orange’s 11-point win over Stanford Sunday despite exiting the game briefly with an injury in the third quarter. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor
Stanford was a tall task for a new starting lineup. But Hawkins, Phelia’s replacement, stepped in as the sparkplug early. The sophomore forward’s 5.5 points per game were meager compared to Phelia’s 14.2, yet in a career-high 39 minutes, Hawkins recorded 10 points and four steals.
“Shy was huge,” Darius said. “I think her focus and her level of aggression was great today. And that’s what we need.”
Courtesy of a Hawkins layup, five points from Burrows and a 3 from Darius, SU jumped out to a 10-4 lead. Stanford battled back with its own 9-0 spurt, but Hawkins was there to stop the bleeding. She pushed toward the right block, hitting a fadeaway jumper to cut the Orange’s deficit to 13-12.
Hawkins stole the attention, but Darius’ play deserved some, too. In the three games before facing Cal, Darius combined for just 13 points. She was in a rut and said she questioned herself. She spoke with coaches about her struggles and said those conversations instilled confidence in her.
Through one quarter, Darius turned in a team-high 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, 2-of-2 from deep. She finished with a career-high 26 points on 6-of-13 overall efficiency.
Even when Darius was on the bench, Syracuse had no trouble producing on offense. Stanford’s defense appeared lost, and its offense coughed up the ball multiple times early in the second quarter. It only fueled the Orange more.
“(Stanford’s) physical. They’re physical. (I told us) to stop looking at the officials,” Legette-Jack said. “Nobody’s gonna save us but us. If you go down, the next person is up.”
The Orange’s eight-point halftime lead grew to 10. Then 12. Then 15. Despite the injury to Darius’s left shoulder in the third quarter, SU charged forward. When she did return, she added 10 fourth-quarter points.
“I just had to be out there with my teammates. I think I overextended it or something, but I’m fine now,” Darius said. “I didn’t wanna let them down.”
Syracuse, even without its top asset, remained in control. It showcased the resilience Legette-Jack’s been talking about. The goal to be recognized among the country’s best.
On Sunday, it looked one step closer.
