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Despite a comfortable 87-60 win over Binghamton Wednesday, Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack was “really upset” following the game. SU’s aim for each game is to allow fewer than 59 points. Binghamton’s Samantha Baker’s 3-pointer with 11 seconds lifted the Bears above the 59-point threshold.

Legette-Jack said Syracuse hasn’t been showing its “defensive prowess” this season. In the Orange’s final nonconference game versus Dartmouth, though, their defense stood out.

Syracuse (6-6, 0-1 ACC) recorded its second straight win to get back to .500, beating Dartmouth (5-7, 0-0 Ivy League) 87-52. After allowing 71.9 points per game, the Orange limited Dartmouth offensively. Offensively, SU used its size advantage to outscore the Big Green 62-26 in the paint.

The post presence started early, and it came in many forms. Kyra Wood scored 10 and recorded 10 rebounds. Keira Scott added 13. Izabel Varejão put up four points and four rebounds. Shy Hawkins registered 11 points and four boards.

But the most impactful player down low was an unlikely one, senior Saniaa Wilson. Wilson has played a career-low 9.8 minutes per game to start the season. She has averaged 2.9 points. But she took advantage of her cameo against the Big Green, dropping 16 points — 14 of which came in the fourth quarter — on 7-for-7 shooting in a mere 14 minutes.

“Our bigs can be really special,” Legette-Jack said Wednesday following the Binghamton game.

Wilson has embraced her old-school post presence and asserted herself with nine straight points for the Orange to start the fourth quarter. After playing just four minutes during the first three quarters, she played the entire fourth quarter. On the first play, she set a high screen, creating space for Angelica Velez. Wilson then chiseled out space in the paint, received a looping pass from Velez and converted the layup.

Wilson posted up in the midrange on the next possession, and Velez found her again. Wilson faced up Cate McDonald, then spun past her, earning a trip to the free-throw line. She then picked up a rebound off a Scott miss and used the backboard to finish the play.

Dartmouth started double-teaming Wilson, but she didn’t slow down. She battled through two Big Green defenders to bank in her ninth point of the game less than three minutes into the fourth. She completed her day with a turnaround layup, showcasing her soft touch, and an open lay-in in the final minute.

Before the season started, Legette-Jack recognized Wilson’s ability. Though it took until SU’s 12th game for the senior to fully demonstrate it.

“Saniaa Wilson is going to be really good for us down the stretch,” Legette-Jack said following SU’s 90-50 exhibition win over Daemen. “She is the strongest post player we’ve ever coached.”

Syracuse needed less than five seconds to get on the board. Scott got inside and finished four seconds in. Twenty seconds later, Scott converted another layup. Scott’s involvement continued when she grabbed a steal off the ground and pushed the ball up the court. Georgia Woolley finished the play with a baseline jumper, handing SU an 8-0 lead, forcing Dartmouth to call a timeout.

Dartmouth didn’t get on the board until the 6:24 mark of the first quarter when Victoria Page scored. Page then canned a 3-pointer to narrow the deficit to five. Page, who leads the Big Green with 15.5 points and plays the 10th most minutes nationally at 37.7, was Dartmouth’s biggest threat, scoring 16 points.

But Syracuse soon tightened the clamps on defense and heated up offensively. Dominique Camp sank an open 3. Then Madeline Potts canned a triple, pushing the lead to double digits. However, SU struggled from 3, shooting 30.8%. The poor outside shooting follows sub-25% efforts at Texas A&M and versus then-No. 10 Notre Dame.

But, in turn, the Orange kept pounding the paint. After registering four steals in the first quarter, SU started the second quarter by harrying Dartmouth’s Zeynep Ozel into a jump ball. Wood took advantage of the forced turnover to extend SU’s lead to 24-9.

The Orange forced the Big Green into a two-minute scoring drought, where SU compiled a 13-0 run to stretch its lead to 37-13. 10 of those points came in the paint, where SU also imposed their size, outscoring Dartmouth 28-10 in the post in the first half.

Though Dartmouth clawed its way back, going on its own 8-0 run. The Big Green’s success stemmed from SU’s turnovers. Suddenly, SU’s lead was trimmed to 15 heading towards the half. Wood converted a layup to end SU’s dry spell and hand Syracuse a 41-24 halftime advantage.

Wood only played 10 minutes in the first half of SU’s loss to Notre Dame on Dec. 8. Legette-Jack said Wood wanted to come out for the second half but couldn’t due to an injury. Wood again only played 16 minutes versus Binghamton Wednesday, managing eight points and one rebound. Only Saturday, Wood only played 16 minutes but recorded her third double-double of the season.

Legette-Jack has noticed a difference in Wood’s demeanor this season. After the Notre Dame loss, the head coach said last year the senior “didn’t really care” since SU was winning consistently. Now, Legette-Jack said Wood “wants to be a part of the solution” to the Orange’s early season struggles.

“She can catch a gnat,” Legette-Jack said of Wood after SU’s win over Yale. “She’s got great hands and we couldn’t say that about her last year, she’s evolved into that.”

The third quarter started like the first. Scott grabbed an early bucket as SU continued to make hay down low. At halftime, Legette-Jack told ACC Network she was frustrated by her team’s effort in the final minutes of the first half. Following the break SU came out energized. Woolley drove in, made a mid-range floater through the contact and headed to the line to convert the and-one.

And then on the outside, Potts continued to show off her shooting ability, knocking down her second 3 of the game to stretch SU’s cushion to 59-32 with 3:20 to go in the third quarter. Dartmouth only scored once more in the third, as the Orange confined them to a scoring drought for the last 2:52 of the third quarter, and SU’s lead exceeded 30 points.

Wilson became the center of Syracuse’s offense in the fourth, and the Big Green had no answer. Consequently, Syracuse’s lead ballooned even more, as the reserves got extended playing time before Syracuse’s second ACC game against No. 17 Georgia Tech on Jan. 2. And despite allowing 18 points in the fourth quarter, the Orange achieved Legette-Jack’s goal of allowing under 59 while exploding offensively down low.

Published on December 21, 2024 at 1:05 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal