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February is a chance for Syracuse women’s basketball to prove itself. The Orange scheduled four Quad 1 and 2 games in the final month of the regular season before March — and the chaos that comes with it.

Syracuse positioned itself well for that gauntlet. Entering its final four games — three of which are against Quad 1 or 2 squads — SU was a projected No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Realistically, the Orange only needed to win one or two of their final few contests to be a lock for the dance. But the experience of playing some of the nation’s best can be equally as valuable for a Syracuse team that hasn’t proved it can beat them.

Against Clemson Sunday, Syracuse got a taste of the chaos. And by battling through it, SU may just have punched its ticket to March.

The Orange (21-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast) took down Clemson (18-9, 9-6 Atlantic Coast) 68-64 in a nail-biter at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange led for 39 of the 40 minutes, but Clemson took SU to the wire, staying within a few possessions for most of the afternoon.

Ultimately, Sophie Burrows’ monster 19-point, 16-rebound performance and SU’s 46-27 domination on the glass helped propel it to the win. It improved Syracuse’s record to 5-1 in Quad 2 games, a major boost to its already NCAA Tournament-caliber resume.

“What a gutsy performance that was by our team. I just really enjoyed watching them figure it out,” Legette-Jack said. “I’m so proud of this whole team and how we just stepped up to the plate.”

Indeed, SU stood tall when faced with adversity late. After leading for the first 33 minutes of play, the Orange’s lead vanished early in the fourth quarter after Clemson went on a 6-0 run in the first three minutes. The Tigers grabbed their first lead of the game after a Mia Moore layup at the 6:57 mark.

But the next 19 seconds were the only moments Clemson led all afternoon.

On Syracuse’s next trip down the floor, Burrows canned a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Orange back up by two. After Moore smoked an open layup on the other end, SU hauled in two crucial offensive rebounds to set up a putback layup from Burrows.

Clemson chipped away at SU’s lead for the next six minutes but never went ahead. The Tigers had a chance to take the lead or send the game to overtime on their second-to-last possession, but Demeara Hinds’ layup clanked off the iron with 6.8 seconds remaining. The Orange then closed it out at the free-throw line.

The most comfortable moments of the matchup for Syracuse were the first few. Unlike SU’s most recent loss — a home battering against then-No. 6 Louisville, the Orange got going early on offense.

SU sprinted out to an 8-0 lead in the game’s opening two and a half minutes, knocking down six of its first 10 shots. Uche Izoje led the way with six points while Burrows hauled in four rebounds in her first six minutes.

It was a sign of what would come on the glass. The Tigers entered the matchup allowing just 7.8 offensive rebounds per game, the third-best average in the nation. But they looked minuscule on the boards as SU tallied 18 total offensive rebounds to Clemson’s one.

“You might beat us in a lot of things, but if you beat us at rebounding, that’s just an effort thing,” Legette-Jack said. “(Clemson) really did a great job of trying to block us out. But our story is too important to us for that to happen.”

Clemson didn’t stay cold for long, though. The Tigers trimmed the lead to as few as three on two separate occasions in the first, outscoring the Orange 12-9 aside from SU’s early eight-point flurry. Syracuse led 17-12 after one.

The Orange didn’t get their first bench points until three minutes into the second quarter, when Jasmyn Cooper sank a fast-break layup. Olivia Schmitt then canned a 3 on the next possession to put SU up eight.

That turned into a game-high 11 after Dominique Darius hit a 3, but Clemson clawed back with an 8-0 run out of a timeout. Holland Harris and Hannah Kohn both nailed triples to get within three, although a Laila Phelia and-1 and a Burrows bucket helped the Orange settle down.

Clemson hit its last four field goals of the half, but SU closed it on a 7-4 run to enter the break up 34-28. The Orange held Clemson without an offensive board in the first half and led the rebounding margin 24-11. Burrows had as many rebounds as the entire Tigers roster at that point.

“I just wanted to come in and try to impact the game in ways that wasn’t just scoring,” Burrows said. “Whether that was defense or offensive rebounds today, that was kind of my goal.”

It also helped that the Orange successfully limited one of the country’s hottest scorers in the first 20 minutes. While she finished with 17 points, Moore, who’d averaged 30.5 points over her past two contests, had just two at the half on 1-of-6 shooting. Syracuse, meanwhile, had four starters with over five points at the break.

“​​I thought that (Syracuse) did a good job of sticking with our shooters early in the game,” Clemson head coach Shawn Poppie said. “I had to do a better job of creating some other movement to get (Moore) into some gaps.”

As Moore got going in the second half, SU’s scoring didn’t come as easily. Syracuse went nearly four minutes without a bucket after Phelia scored on SU’s first trip down the court. It allowed Clemson to creep within three on a few occasions, although an Izoje and-1 promptly helped the Orange stay up by six.

Syracuse couldn’t extend the lead much, though. Clemson stayed within two possessions for most of the third quarter.

It hurt that SU’s best player had to head to the bench early, as Izoje picked up her fourth foul with four minutes remaining in the third. Phelia almost single-handedly kept the Orange offense afloat with eight points in the frame, but they led by just five entering the fourth.

Clemson never went away, briefly taking the lead and making SU hold its breath on its final few possessions. But, backed by one final stand and a few makes from the line, the Orange saw it through.

And it may just be the win that secures them a spot in March Madness.

Published on February 15, 2026 at 4:08 pm
Contact Harris: harrispemberton@gmail.com | @HarrisPemb6