SU slowed down for 5 minutes against NC State — just enough to force a loss
Syracuse women’s basketball allowed a back-breaking 18-0 run across a five-minute span in the first half, opening the door for a 82-69 loss to NC State Sunday. Courtesy of SU Athletics | Pyae May
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It was only five and a half minutes. Surely Syracuse could afford it.
The Orange were up 14-13 midway through the first quarter of their matchup with NC State — their second-to-last shot at a vital Quad 1 win before the postseason. Uche Izoje had just banked in a fast break layup off a cross-court feed from Sophie Burrows, giving SU a one-point advantage.
It was the type of start Syracuse so desperately needed in a hostile Lenovo Center. Orange head coach Felisha Legette-Jack often says that metaphorically landing the first punch — going on a big run early in the game — is crucial to pulling away.
While SU wasn’t too far ahead in the game’s opening minutes, it surely came out swinging. The Wolfpack and the Orange went end-to-end with high tempo, both teams trying to gas out the other. Neither team would give in the game’s first five minutes.
That was, until Syracuse finally did.
The Orange (21-6, 11-5 Atlantic Coast) allowed a back-breaking 18-0 run across a five-and-a-half minute span, ultimately proving to be their fatal flaw in a 82-69 loss to NC State (18-9, 11-5 ACC) Sunday. With tired legs and insufficient subs, Syracuse went scoreless through the final 4:32 of the first quarter and the first minute of the second. Suddenly, SU’s lead evaporated into a 17-point hole. And with it, its chances of a crucial resume-booster vanished.
“We kept getting punched in the mouth,” Legette-Jack said postgame. “We didn’t match that until halftime.”
After the half, the Orange were much better. In fact, they outscored the Wolfpack 69-64 outside of those nightmarish five minutes and 17 seconds.
The teams each scored 15 points in the final nine minutes of the second. Syracuse controlled the third quarter, outscoring NC State by four points and pulling within six at one point. The Orange stayed steady in the fourth quarter as well, matching the Wolfpack’s output with 16 points.
But, against top teams, five slow minutes is all it takes. Syracuse learned that the hard way.
Shortly after Izoje’s layup, the seventh lead-changing score of the afternoon, Khamil Pierre made a layup on the other end to retake the Wolfpack’s one-point lead. Then, Zamareya Jones canned a 3-pointer off a Laila Phelia miss and Zoe Brooks got to the cup to push the lead to six.
Neither team scored for the next minute and a half, prompting the Orange to make a few subs at the ensuing media timeout. Jasmyn Cooper and Aurora Almon checked in for Shy Hawkins and Burrows. Dominique Darius came out a minute later for Olivia Schmitt.
The subs didn’t change much. In fact, no SU bench player scored all afternoon, missing all four of their combined shot attempts.
Meanwhile, Brooks and Tilda Trygger combined for six more points to close the quarter for the Wolfpack. They turned a one-point deficit into a 12-point lead in four and a half minutes.
Out of the break, Jones nailed another triple, and Maddie Cox hit two free throws to bring the lead to a then-game-high 17.
Finally, Izoje broke SU’s drought with a jumper from the left wing, SU’s first bucket in over five minutes. It was answered with two more buckets from Pierre — who finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds — to extend the advantage to 19.
Eventually, Syracuse settled down for the final nine minutes of the quarter, doing just enough to keep the game within reach. And even though it ignited for a 9-2 run to start the second half — which extended into a 20-9 burst by the 4:38 mark in the second — Syracuse never again got within five. All because of a few lousy minutes in the first quarter.
If SU had a time machine and could undo that brief stretch, perhaps it’d be leaving Raleigh with a massive Quad 1 win — the kind of win that would dispel any lingering questions of whether the Orange were ready for March.
Instead, they’re still trying to prove they can hang with the best. And they’re running out of time to do so before things get real.
