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Kayla McPherson had just gone coast-to-coast for the Tar Heels. But on the ensuing Syracuse possession, Dyaisha Fair was wide open on the right wing. She pulled up and drained the 3 while getting fouled on the follow through late in the third quarter. Fair made the four-point play and the Orange took a 15-point lead into the fourth.

Syracuse (16-9, 7-7 Atlantic Coast) used a 31-14 third quarter to upset the No. 14 Tar Heels (17-7, 8-5 ACC) and pick up its first ranked win of the season with the 75-67 win. Fair scored 23 points while Georgia Woolley and Dariauna Lewis added 20 and 14, respectively. Both sides went back-and-forth as Deja Kelly carried the Tar Heels, accounting for 32 points.

But the third period would be the difference maker for Syracuse, which picked up a massive win as it sat in the next four out in ESPN’s Bracketology for the NCAA Tournament. It’s also the program’s first ranked win since Dec. 1, 2021 against Ohio State.

“It feels good,” Georgia Woolley said of upsetting a ranked team after multiple tries. “We’re just gonna continue to bring this energy into the next stretch of games.”

It only took just over four minutes for Felisha Legette-Jack to use a timeout. Kelly received the ball in the left corner, faked then drove before passing inside to Anya Poole, who made the layup. Legette-Jack had seen enough as the Tar Heels quickly developed a 10-3 lead.

Beside an Alaina Rice 3 from the right wing, Syracuse couldn’t get much offense going. Dariauna Lewis turned the ball over twice in two possessions — once on a cross over and another on a bad pass on a fast break. Then, Rice had her pass picked off and Woolley’s forced pass inside was stolen, too.

But out of the break, Syracuse turned it a complete 180 degrees. Good ball movement led to jumpers from Lewis and Teisha Hyman. Hyman made her first appearance since leaving injured against Louisville on Jan. 29. Fair stole a Tar Heel pass and went coast-to-coast and another bucket from Lewis inside capped off a 10-2 run as Syracuse led 16-14 at the end of the first quarter.

“We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way,” Legette-Jack said.

In the second quarter, both sides started to hit the triple early on. Fair banked one in right as the shot clock expired after Woolley saved the ball from going out of the bounds. Woolley would later add a 3 from the top of the key. But UNC’s Kelly became a threat in the second quarter, notching two triples and having a fadeaway jumper to put the Tar Heels up 27-24.

Kelly finished with 19 first-half points, which was almost double the highest Syracuse first-half scorer — Lewis. Kelly could shoot from anywhere, wrapping around screens for midrange shots or draining the 3-ball. She finished with a usage rate of 38.11% and shot 13-of-25 from the floor for 32 points.

Lewis led the way for Syracuse with 10 points. At the end of the first half, she almost had an and-1. Grabbing a high pass from Fair, she misses her initial layup, before going up strong and drawing the foul on McPherson. She notched both free throws as the Orange were perfect from the free-throw line (8-of-8) in the first 20 minutes. Lewis also stuffed Kelly when she tried to drive inside, but Kelly scored a triple out of the inbounds play as UNC held a narrow 34-32 lead.

Out of the halftime break, the Orange developed a quick seven-point lead behind the play by Georgia Woolley. Todd-Williams made another Tar Heel 3, but Woolley responded with another of her own. She pump faked, allowing her defender to jump, before swishing one. She swishes another from the top of the key, too. And defensively on back-to-back possessions, she stole the ball, which led to two easy points for Kyra Wood on the latter as UNC called a timeout, trailing 44-37. And out of the timeout, Woolley scored another jumper similar to her first in the period.

“We just got more aggressive and we really started to play more together as one,” Fair said of the third quarter. “We got more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball and offense came from that.”

Syracuse continued with the dominant third quarter, developing a 15-point lead at the end of the third quarter. Fair hit a couple 3s from the right wing. Georgia Woolley drew an offensive foul in UNC’s backcourt, generating an energy-filled Felisha Legette-Jack fist bump. Even with North Carolina starting its full-court press in the middle of the third, Syracuse still found a way to beat it, holding a significant advantage entering the fourth quarter.

To start the fourth, following a Woolley free throw, Fair drained five straight points. She penetrated down the left baseline before pulling up. Then, to silence a short run by the Tar Heels, Fair hit another 3-pointer. In the first half, she only had five points, but by the game’s end, she had 23 points.

“When it’s my time, it’s my time,” Fair said.

The fourth quarter has been a struggle before — Notre Dame, Duke, Georgia Tech, NC State and Virginia Tech were all examples. UNC had gotten the lead to as low as eight, but Syracuse controlled the period and on Thursday, there was no threat of its upset ever going away.

“We really pulled that together today against a really great coach,” Legette-Jack said. “We beat somebody today and this young team is growing.”

Published on February 9, 2023 at 9:08 pm

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