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It’s been a whirlwind week for Syracuse. Point guard Dominique Darius was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week. Uche Izoje earned her fifth Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Week honor, surpassing her previous program record of four.

After the Orange downed Stanford, Felisha Legette-Jack said that she’d love to see her team enter the national spotlight. With individual accolades piling up, her wish appeared to be coming to fruition.

But that same team-wide recognition hasn’t been there. Prevailing over North Carolina, which started the season at No. 11 in the AP Top 25, would’ve helped SU get there. It’s been ranked in nine of 12 polls, but bowed out of the rankings after back-to-back losses against Stanford and Notre Dame in early January.

Nevertheless, a win over a team of the Tar Heels’ caliber would’ve marked another step forward for Legette-Jack’s crew, yet the Orange couldn’t get it done.

North Carolina (17-5, 6-3 ACC) topped SU (16-4, 6-3 ACC) 77-71 in an overtime classic at the Carmichael Arena Sunday afternoon. Despite Laila Phelia’s return to the starting lineup, the Orange shot just 35% and couldn’t match the Tar Heels’ efficiency from beyond the arc (9-of-24). SU trailed by as much as eight in the fourth quarter, but battled back to force an overtime period where it couldn’t complete the job.

With Phelia back in the rotation Sunday after a lower-back injury sidelined her for SU’s matchup versus Stanford, the Orange had a significant backcourt advantage. Phelia leads Syracuse with 14.2 points per game and a 42.9% 3-point clip, while Darius has a respectable 12.7 scoring average. But neither of them could catch fire early.

UNC jumped out to an early 11-6 lead courtesy of three buckets from Nyla Harris and a Lanie Grant fastbreak 3. From there, SU spent the first quarter playing catch-up. It cut its deficit to one midway through the frame, but struggled to get over the hump.

Izoje, who’d recently been overshadowed by Darius, continued to attack on 6-foot-4 forward Ciera Toomey but came up empty, finishing the first quarter 1-of-6 from the field. It was the Orange’s first cause for concern.

There’d be many more concerning moments down the stretch, especially with UNC’s accuracy from deep. The Tar Heels opened the game 3-of-5 from the perimeter, staying in front until Darius knocked down two free throws one minute into the second quarter to tie the score at 19-19. The deadlock didn’t last long, though, as Brooks corralled a rebound off a Shy Hawkins missed jumper, pushed baseline to baseline and drained a layup while drawing contact.

Sophie Burrows’ first 3 of the afternoon evened SU once again, but Indya Nivar responded 14 seconds later with an uncontested triple from the left wing. Finally, after 18 minutes of play, the Orange took their first lead.

Nivar missed a layup while swarmed by Izoje and Journey Thompson, allowing Darius to push up to the elbow for a fastbreak jumper. She hit back iron, but Izoje was there to lay it up and in, giving Syracuse a 28-27 lead.

The excitement of that advantage was short-lived. About five minutes into the third quarter, Phelia leaped and blocked a pass from Grant. She pushed forward to the left block, moments from touching in a layup to cut SU’s deficit to 44-42. However, the guard fell to her knees with an apparent injury and was immediately tended to by athletic trainer Karen McKinney.

It was deja vu for the Orange, who had to look elsewhere with their best asset on the bench. Izoje proved to be the difference, scoring SU’s next four points to knot the game at 44-44. Frustration soon brewed over, though, as UNC continued to outdo Syracuse with 3 after 3.

The Tar Heels attempted a 3 in four of their next five trips up the court — and made three of them. When Phelia — SU’s most consistent 3-point shooter — returned six minutes after her injury, she couldn’t provide the Orange with the spark they needed.

Syracuse continued to search for that spark throughout the fourth quarter. It trailed by as much as eight in the final 10 minutes, and seemingly had no answer as the game inched out of its control.

Phelia uncharacteristically airballed a 3 before Thompson’s pass landed into the hands of Brooks. The Orange, however, showed signs of life in the final minute of play, with Izoje sinking two free throws and Burrows adding one.

As the clock dwindled, each possession held more weight. Syracuse controlled its own destiny, having the ball with six seconds remaining and the score knotted at 68-68. But Phelia drove into a highly contested lane, missing the mark. Although her miss was snagged by Izoje, she couldn’t convert either.

Syracuse entered its third overtime game of the season, but unlike the first two, couldn’t prevail. It quickly fell behind by five points after a Grant jumper and a Harris and-1 finger roll. That deficit grew to seven.

The Orange didn’t hit their first overtime bucket until two minutes remained. By the time Nivar made an open layup with 1:45 left, the game was far out of reach. SU scored one more point.

If someone told Syracuse three months ago that it would’ve put up an overtime fight against North Carolina, a team that opened the season as national title contenders, no one would’ve believed it. But that’s the reality of where the Orange are at.

Though Syracuse fell victim to UNC, a narrow six-point overtime loss suggests it’ll return to its winning ways in no time.

Published on January 25, 2026 at 2:25 pm
Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_