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Last week, Syracuse cruised past Daemen 90-50 in its only exhibition game ahead of the 2024-25 season. Despite losing most of its offensive contributors from the previous season — Alyssa Latham, Alaina Rice and Dyaisha Fair — SU looked in control for the entire contest.

Freshmen Keira Scott and Shy Hawkins scored 16 points each, while senior Kyra Wood produced a double-double. However, the Orange sported a lineup devoid of their top returning player, Georgia Woolley, and graduate student Dominique Camp.

On Tuesday, Woolley and Camp were both in the starting lineup for SU’s first regular-season contest versus Niagara, providing the first true look at Syracuse’s new squad. The Orange jumped out to a 14-point first-half lead, propelled by 10 points and four rebounds from Scott.

In the second frame, SU led the entire time, with Wood making her mark. Despite the Orange finishing with 30 turnovers, they did more than enough to earn the victory.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 108-84 victory over Niagara (0-1, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference):

Camp powers SU early

After transferring to Syracuse from Akron last year, Camp tore her ACL in SU’s first exhibition game, ending her season. Camp returned strong, and she was inserted into the starting lineup for the Orange’s first game. Though she couldn’t get on the board early, Camp was involved as a distributor and rebounder.

On Niagara’s first possession of the game, Jade Rutledge missed a mid-range shot, and Camp came down with the rebound. Over a minute later, Camp dished the ball to Wood to give SU an early 6-2 lead.

At the 7:30 mark of the first frame, Camp stole the ball away from Niagara and again passed it to Wood for an easy layup. Camp also drained a 3-pointer after sidestepping a defender, her only points of the half.

Camp finished the first half with three rebounds, four assists and three steals, propelling SU to a 24-17 lead at the break.

Scott, Wood shine

Coming into the season, Scott and Wood both looked to play pivotal roles. Wood was a major part of the offense last year, notching 6.1 points per game. Scott, a four-star freshman, committed to the Orange in the offseason.

Scott started the game on fire. First, the freshman pulled up for a jumper on the right side, which found nothing but net. Soon after, she notched an easy rebound on a Sophie Burrows 3-point try, laying the ball in for two points. Scott added two more buckets to end the first quarter, putting her at eight points and five rebounds at the break.

After a stagnant end to the first half, Scott notched her sixth rebound of the day on a Barnes missed jumper. She finished the half just four boards from a double-double in her first college game.

Wood was active in SU’s offense as well, starting the contest with two uncontested lay-ups. Then, Madeline Potts launched a pass down the court to Wood, who cashed in again. The senior finished the first half with nine points.

To start the back half, Wood made three straight layups to extend Syracuse’s lead to 53-41. The first two buckets were assisted by Woolley, but then, Scott dished the ball to an open Wood for the third score. Wood was also effective on the glass, as she ended with eight boards to go along with a team-leading 19 points.

Turnovers galore

Even though the Orange won by 24 points, they played fairly sloppy throughout the contest. Before the game, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack mentioned that the Purple Eagles would lean heavily on their press defense.

As a result, SU practiced against it throughout the week. Though at first, it largely didn’t work. In the first half, the Orange tallied 17 turnovers compared to Niagara’s 11.

At the half, five SU players had recorded two or more turnovers, with Hawkins leading the team with four in only 10 minutes of play. Syracuse often stole the ball away from the Purple Eagles, but errant passes stalled any momentum it had.

The third quarter started similarly, with Olivia Schmitt coughing the ball up twice in a row, handing the Purple Eagles four easy points. Wood and Scott did the same three minutes later, cutting the Orange’s lead to 10.

Syracuse finished the contest with 30 giveaways, keeping Niagara in a game longer than it should’ve been.

Diverse scoring

Last season, Syracuse’s offense mostly ran through Fair. The graduate student averaged 22.3 points per game, etching her name in the record books as the third all-time scorer in Division I women’s basketball history. The next-highest scorer on the team was Woolley at 13.8.

After Fair’s graduation, it left the Orange without a true identity. But Legette-Jack had a plan — spread the wealth. With Fair, SU sported a largely one-dimensional offense, with the game plan being to get its best player the ball often.

But in just the first half versus Niagara, nine Syracuse players recorded at least one point, with Scott and Wood leading the way. Burrows and Woolley also notched five points each.

The second half was more of the same. While Wood and Scott established themselves early, they were just two-of-six SU players to notch double-digit points. Woolley finished with 18, going 3-for-5 from 3.

Published on November 5, 2024 at 9:28 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu