Syracuse Bounces Back From Monday’s Loss with 65-48 Win Over Bucknell
By Nick Luttrell | @nickluttie
CitrusTV Women’s Basketball Beat Reporter
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After a sluggish start in which the Orange trailed the Bison 10-6, Syracuse (5-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) responded in the last three quarters to defeat Bucknell (2-4, 0-0 Patriot) by a final score of 65-48.
It was a rocky start to begin the game for SU. The Orange seemingly picked up where they left off in their fourth quarter meltdown at Penn State on Monday night. Syracuse scored just six points in the first ten minutes and trailed 10-6 at the end of the first quarter.
But the second quarter was a different story for the Orange and it started with Dyaisha Fair. After the senior traded buckets with Bucknell’s Cecelia Collins to begin the quarter, Fair then single-handedly took her team on a 6-0 run to make it 14-12, giving the Orange their first lead of the game.
Just over a minute later, Fair made back-to-back three-pointers, one of which the Buffalo transfer took her defender inside the lane before pausing, taking two steps back and hitting the three as she was falling away. The 22-foot bucket gave Fair 18 points on the night and put the Orange up 22-14 with 3:34 remaining in the second quarter.
When the buzzer sounded to end the first half, Syracuse led Bucknell 28-20. Dyaisha Fair’s dominance in the second quarter left her with 20 points at the half – the same amount of points the entire Bucknell team had.
While it took Syracuse nearly three and a half minutes to score its first points to start the first half, it only took the Orange nine seconds into the second half to score. The bucket by Dariauna Lewis at the 9:51 mark was the first points on the way to SU’s 7-1 run to open the half.
And while it was the Dyaisha Fair show in the second quarter, it was the Syracuse defense that showed out in the final 20 minutes of gameplay.
The Orange turned the Bison over eight times in the second half but more impressively held them to just one made three point basket, the same amount the Bison made in the first half. SU held Bucknell to shooting just 9.5% from beyond the arc – which was a season low for the Bison.
On the offensive end for Syracuse, Dyaisha Fair led the Orange with 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. For Bucknell, Cecelia Collins led the Bison with 18 points and 3 rebounds.
Coach Jack and the Orange will begin their two-game road stretch with games at Purdue in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on November 30 at 6 p.m. and at Yale on December 4 at noon. You can follow my twitter @nickluttie for live updates and video throughout those games.
