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Syracuse has been plagued by inconsistencies this season. The Orange started 2-3 in their opening homestand, capped by an upset loss to UAlbany on a last-second 3.

SU then traveled down to Niceville, Florida, for two games at the Emerald Coast Classic. Monday, Syracuse knocked off Missouri 82-59, with four players contributing over 14 points. It shot 51.6% from the field and scored 46 points in the paint.

But just a day later, the Orange regressed, falling to Creighton 86-59 in the Beach Bracket Championship. SU’s shooting percentage dipped to just 35.1%, while none of its starters scored more than eight points.

Syracuse had a chance to rebound against a less formidable opponent in Yale on Sunday. Despite only nine points in the first quarter, Syracuse entered the half up by 13, thanks to 11 second-quarter points from Izabel Varejão. The Orange never surrendered their lead and finished the game shooting 43.5% from the field.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (4-4, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 78-50 victory over Yale (1-8, 0-0 Ivy League):

Scott, Velez start

SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack has experimented with her starting lineups. Sixth-year senior Dominique Camp started the first three games, but Legette-Jack switched between Camp, LSU transfer Angelica Velez and Olivia Schmitt.

Velez got the start against Yale, her first since SU’s loss to then-No. 11 Maryland on Nov. 13. More surprisingly, freshman Keira Scott made her first career start.

However, the duo was largely ineffective. Immediately, Velez assisted a layup to Kyra Wood but was subbed out soon after. Scott, similarly, struggled to start. The freshman only played the first four minutes before leaving, shooting 0-2 from the field and notching two rebounds.

Scott opened the second with a floater, and Velez followed by sinking two free throws to extend SU’s lead to 37-20. With six minutes remaining in the third, Velez lofted a pass to Journey Thompson, who converted an uncontested layup. Despite a brief stretch of success, Scott and Velez only added four more points the rest of the way.

Sloppy play to start

Syracuse should’ve blown Yale out of the water. But instead, SU struggled with missed first-quarter shots and costly turnovers. To start, Scott missed a layup, then had the ball stripped away after originally securing a rebound. Following Yale’s leading scorer Mackenzie Egger converting a layup, Georgia Woolley gave the ball right back to Yale.

On its next possession, Woolley and Sophie Burrows missed shots as well, turning over possession once again. SU ended the first quarter trailing 10-9, one of its lowest-scoring frames this season.

To start the second, it didn’t have much better luck. It took Syracuse until four minutes were remaining in the quarter to retake the lead 20-18.

Despite shooting 12-for-29 from the field, SU finished the first 20 minutes with 11 turnovers, contributing to the close battle to start. The Orange also only attempted four 3s in the half, finishing 1-of-4 from distance. SU went into the half up 33-20, largely due to 11 late points from Varejão, but its giveaways kept the game close for longer than it should’ve been.

Varejão stars off the bench

Varejão, typically SU’s starting center, began on the bench for the first time this season. She didn’t score in the first quarter but made her mark in the second.

With 4:29 remaining in the half, she subbed in and immediately drilled a layup to give SU a 20-18 lead that it never relinquished. Then, Varejão blocked a Ciniya Moore mid-range jumper and tacked on another two points on the other end.

She finished the half strong, adding four free throws to make her 5-for-6 at the line. She also sank another layup, giving her a team-leading 11 points at the break.

Varejão didn’t hit any shots in the third quarter, but was effective on the glass. She notched her 10th rebound with two minutes to go in the quarter, giving her a double-double. With a minute remaining in the third, she finally got on the board in the back half by converting 1-of-2 free throws after drawing a foul under the rim. Varejão ended the contest with 12 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds.

Stopping Egger

Yale has one player this season that is scoring more than seven points per game — Egger. The senior has notched four 20-point games to start the season, easily leading the Bulldogs with 16.9 points on average.

If SU could stop Egger, it seemed like it could handily win the game. And that’s exactly what happened. Syracuse started the game with Wood on Egger, though switched to the 6-foot-4 Varejão after she entered.

Egger sank a floater to knot the game at 2-2 just under a minute in, but she missed a 3-point jumper a possession later. With five minutes left in the first quarter, the Michigan native sank a second-chance layup to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 6-2. Though following this possession, Syracuse did a better job at stopping Egger.

The Orange didn’t allow Egger to get many clean looks, forcing her to dish the ball to her teammates, who were largely inaccurate. She finished with only eight points at the half and 14 total.

Egger accumulated four fouls in the first half, and she started the final quarter on the bench. Syracuse eliminated Yale’s leading scorer for nearly half the game, allowing it to pull away.

Published on December 1, 2024 at 2:27 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu