No. 7 Notre Dame Outshines Syracuse Women’s basketball 72-56 in the Dome
Reporter: Jesse Cook
Tight play characterized the first three quarters of the Syracuse Women’s Basketball Team’s 72-56 home loss to No. 7 Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon with N.D. running away in the last frame.
The Fighting Irish outshot the Orange by a wide margin, hitting 48.4% (31-64) of their shots from the field, trouncing S.U.’s measly 35.8% (24-67) marker. Another Notre Dame advantage came around the three-point arc, doubling up its opponent by sinking 38.1% (7-18) of all long range shots. Syracuse made just 19% (4-21) of its three-point attempts.
S.U. head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said that shooting discrepancies go back to the basics. She said, “We didn’t make ‘em. We just gotta go get ‘em. I don’t bring negatives to something that’s already obvious, right. The elephant is in the room, it’s right there, and it’s pink. It is what it is, you just gotta make shots.”
Syracuse guard Georgia Woolle echoed her coach’s thoughts, saying that the Orange had their openings. She said, “I think we just took the shots that were there, like the opportunities given to us.”
After three-straight games with more than 10 points, Woolley has now scored in the single digits in back-to-back games, scoring just eight points at Boston College and nine against Notre Dame.
One player who stepped up for S.U. was forward Kyra Wood. The sophomore scored eight points, marking her second-highest total of the season (nine points on Thursday, Jan. 5 against Pitt), and her fourth-best finish of her career. The Temple-transfer also led the game in rebounds tying her season-high of nine.
Wood said that she knew her squad was in for a tough battle underneath the hoop. She said, “We knew coming in that they were going to be big and physical, and we just said that we had to match the intensity going out. We weren’t going to let them bully us around in the paint. We came and they came, and they ended up getting the upper hand.”
Coach Legette-Jack praised Wood’s development, noting her as an important presence both in the locker room and on the court. The head coach said that the forward has, “… been amazing as our captain, amazing as our leader. I’ll tell you what, her upside is tremendous, and she’s just a sophomore. Everybody said, ‘Why is she a starter?’ Well, she’s earned it.”
Next up, Syracuse sets for a road battle at Georgia Tech. Tipoff between the Orange and the Yellow Jackets is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday night.
