Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Syracuse was playing like a team contending for a national title, and it was acting like one, too. That was abundantly clear Thursday after SU bullied Georgia Tech for its largest Atlantic Coast Conference win of the year, another step forward on its voyage back to March.

The victory was the start of a three-game stretch the Orange simply can’t let slip — three matchups against teams below .500 in ACC play. So, despite the wire-to-wire win versus the Yellow Jackets, SU had to keep accelerating Sunday at Miami.

Though things got dicey late, that’s exactly what it did. The Orange downed the Hurricanes 65-60 behind Sophie Burrows’ and Laila Phelia’s game-high 21 points. Aside from the two, SU shot 30%, its second-worst shooting performance this season, but it dominated the turnover battle to claim a 65-60 victory.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (18-4, 8-3 ACC) second straight win over Miami (12-10, 4-7 ACC) Sunday in Coral Gables:

Battle of the bigs

Few ACC bigs pose a daunting challenge to Uche Izoje, SU’s standout freshman who’s earned a program-record six ACC Rookie of the Week honors. Miami has one of them in sixth-year center Ra Shaya Kyle. Kyle’s 6-foot-6 frame outclasses Izoje’s 6-foot-3 stature. Kyle entered Sunday averaging more points and rebounds than Izoje, where Izoje thrives most.

Essentially, Kyle seemed to be a more experienced, more reliable, more talented version of Izoje — at least on paper. But neither could take over. Izoje ended with six points and 12 rebounds, while Kyle tallied 13 and eight.

Of the two bigs, Izoje was the first to make an impact, hauling in an offensive rebound off a Dominique Darius missed jumper and feeding Shy Hawkins to put SU up 6-0. Hawkins’ score was sandwiched between a travel violation and a three-second call on Kyle, both times after facing Izoje’s pressure.

Kyle was subbed out midway through the first quarter but returned less than two minutes later, immediately getting called for a loose-ball foul after pushing Izoje in the back. Both bigs went neck-and-neck for the remainder of the first half, but they each struggled to convert. Izoje had two points and eight boards at halftime, while Kyle had six and four.

Both bigs failed to outwork each other in the second half. Izoje shot 2-of-4 in the third quarter for four more points, while Kyle added four points on one make and a pair of free throws. Izoje picked up her third foul toward the end of the third quarter, giving backup center Aurora Almon increased minutes. Even though Izoje eventually fouled out, her squad prevailed, despite her quiet offensive day.

Darius cools down

Not everybody can have a good game, but as of late, Darius has been an exception. She entered Sunday with four straight performances with 19 or more points, most recently dropping 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting against GT. Yet against the Hurricanes, Darius couldn’t get going, finishing with eight points on 3-of-15 shooting. It was her most inefficient output this season when attempting 10-plus shots.

The contest didn’t start that way, though. Darius drove inside after Izoje won the opening tip, converting a layup to put Syracuse up 2-0. The 5-foot-10 guard wouldn’t score again until just under four minutes to play in the first half, when Syracuse led 20-17.

In between the two sequences, Darius missed seven shots, while her supporting cast wasn’t much better. The Orange entered halftime shooting 26.3%, their second-worst half this year.

The 20-minute break didn’t help Darius, as she shot 1-of-3 in the second half. She opened the third quarter with a missed step-back 3 and then committed two fouls, letting Miami get within four points amid an 0-for-4 SU drought.

While Syracuse rebuilt its lead, Darius was relatively nonexistent. She scored three points in the fourth quarter, and her 12 total misses were her second-most in a game this season.

Miami missteps

Syracuse shot poorly and was close most of the way; the Orange were repeatedly bailed out by Miami mistakes. The Hurricanes turned the ball over 18 times, while committing three travels, two three-second violations and one double-dribble in the first half. They added eight more giveaways in the final 20 minutes, part of why SU outshot Miami 70-61.

Hurricanes guard Ahnay Adams immediately set the tone, throwing the ball into Burrows’ hands just 45 seconds into play. The takeaway didn’t end in scoring, but Kyle traveled one minute later while trying to reach the rack, and this time, Hawkins came through with a jumper.

Again, just over a minute later, Kyle couldn’t escape Izoje inside, getting called for a three-second violation. It was Miami’s final turnover for three minutes, until Darius stole a pass from Meredith Tippner, which started a two-minute scoreless streak for both squads. The Hurricanes turned the ball over one more time as the first frame closed, allowing SU to mount a 7-2 run and enter the first break ahead by five.

Miami continued to misstep in the second quarter, committing four turnovers despite no Syracuse steals. The Orange took a six-point lead into halftime, largely because of their 7-1 points-off-turnovers advantage.

In the second half, the Hurricanes battled back to within three points before Izoje and Burrows put the Orange back up eight. Miami somewhat settled down with just eight second-half turnovers, but by that point, the damage had been done, and SU held on.

Sophie steadies the ship

When Syracuse needed a spark plug Sunday, Burrows was there. In a desperate time with Syracuse taking anything it could get, Burrows was the one to step up, finishing with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

Burrows first made her impact on the defensive end, stripping Adams’ pass on Miami’s first possession. Less than a minute later, she stuffed Danielle Osho’s hook shot jumper, which fueled a 7-0 Orange run.

The Australian sharpshooter converted for the first time just two minutes in, dropping in a second-chance layup after previously missing a triple. Though Burrows played just 11 minutes in the first half, her five points ranked third on the Orange.

The second half is when the 6-foot-2 guard really hit her stride. Burrows shot 5-of-11 in the final 20 minutes, knocking down four enormous 3s to give Syracuse its first comfortable advantage. Burrows’ two third-quarter triples from the left corner gave her a game-high 13 points at the end of the frame.

In the final 10 minutes, Burrows continued to steady SU’s ship. Her pull-up 3-point jumper two minutes into the fourth gave the Orange a 10-point lead. She then buried another triple with five minutes left, extending Syracuse’s lead to a game-high 19 points.

Syracuse’s win looked, at times, much more commanding than it really was, and without Burrows, SU wouldn’t have completed the job.

Published on February 1, 2026 at 4:14 pm
Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_