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Felisha Legette-Jack challenged her team to step up their energy in the second half. Despite riding a three-game win streak into its contest against Northeastern, Syracuse looked sluggish through the first 20 minutes.

The Orange shot 36.4% from the field in the second quarter, but a stout defensive effort helped them lead the Huskies 32-27 at halftime. SU jumped out to a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter before Northeastern responded with a 6-0 run, giving the Orange a 45-41 lead with 3:45 remaining in the quarter.

Then, everything clicked for Syracuse.

“Coming out of halftime, we really all came together and were like, ‘This isn’t what we do,’” said Georgia Woolley, who led SU with 17 points. “Our energy was kind of weird and we talked about that and I thought we brought that energy defensively and people came into the game.”

Spanning over seven minutes from 3:45 remaining in the third quarter to the first 2:50 of the fourth quarter, Syracuse (7-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) went on a 16-0 run, propelling it to a 79-57 win over Northeastern (4-4, 0-0 Coastal Athletic Association). In the second half, SU outscored the Huskies 47-30, leading to its fourth win of the season where it outscored its opponent by 20 or more points.

After Northeastern guard Jaelyn Batts nailed a fadeaway shot from the paint to cut Syracuse’s lead to four, Woolley attempted to respond on the other end. But her catch-and-shoot 3 from the top of the arc missed off the front of the rim. However, Syracuse forward Alyssa Latham glided over Northeastern’s Asha Parker in the paint, securing the rebound and easily converting a putback layup.

A minute later, Dyaisha Fair penetrated into the paint. Derin Erdogan was responsible for Sophie Burrows in the right corner, but she left her assignment to counter Fair driving to the basket. Spotting Burrows open, Fair delivered a quick pass to Burrows who drained her second 3 of the game and the Orange’s third.

On the ensuing possession, the Orange missed two shots but kept its possession alive. SU swung the ball around the paint, forcing the Huskies to collapse to the area near the rim, but they didn’t account for Burrows in the same spot she was on her previous 3-point attempt.

Alaina Rice did, though, and she swung an overhead pass to Burrows who again capitalized from distance. Burrows finished the game with a career-high three 3-pointers made, but her impact on the game went beyond her scoring as her +29 plus/minus led all players despite her only playing 18 minutes.

“(Burrows) is a plus 29,” Legette-Jack said. “How many times are you going to see a freshman get a plus 29? That says she’s awesome defensively, she’s doing something in the rotation, she’s touching the ball and she’s making us better out there.”

Burrows’ 3-point barrage helped spark the Orange’s 16-0 run. Following her multiple made 3s, Northeastern closed the third quarter with a turnover, a defensive foul that led to an SU made free throw and a 3-point miss. Entering the fourth quarter, Syracuse grew its lead to 54-41.

Northeastern’s offense started the fourth quarter just like it ended the third: with sloppy play. Consecutive possessions with turnovers turned into four points for the Orange, with Woolley converting on a fastbreak layup off a steal then Izabel Varejão sinking a floater after the Huskies committed a shot clock violation.

Erdogan ended SU’s run on a 3-pointer, contributing to her game-high 23 points, but the Huskies deficit grew to 17 points since the last time they scored.

After Erdogan’s bucket, Fair responded with a floater followed by two made 3s on back-to-back possessions, going on a personal 8-2 run after scoring only four points across the first three quarters. Following Fair’s offensive outbreak, the Orange led the Huskies by 22 points, a lead that they maintained across the game’s final six minutes.

Throughout the second half, Syracuse scored 15 more points, made six more shots from the field and made three more 3-pointers than it did in the first half — leading to a dominate win.

“I challenged them in the second half and I challenged myself and we came out and responded well,” Legette-Jack said.

Published on December 4, 2023 at 11:55 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon