Syracuse Women’s Basketball Gets Stomped On By Virginia Tech 77-57 in Return to Dome
By Jared Valentin | @JaredValentin_
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — After a quick road trip to Wake Forest (12-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) Sunday afternoon, Syracuse women’s basketball (13-3, 3-2 ACC) returned home to the JMA Wireless Dome and welcomed Virginia Tech (12-5, 2-3 ACC) Thursday evening. The Hokies controlled the contest from start to finish as VT outscored SU in every quarter and never trailed after the matchup’s first 66 seconds.
The first period ended with Virginia Tech leading 22-15. In the second quarter, the Hokies began to pull away completely. VT went on a 13-2 run in the frame and the Orange were held scoreless for the quarter’s first six minutes until guard Angelica Velez connected on a jumper. From there, SU ended the first-half down 12 and the lead only grew larger for Virginia Tech who led by as much as 26 points in the contest. Orange center Uche Izoje led the way for Syracuse with 14 points and joined Laila Phelia as the only two SU players to end in double-figures. The two combined for 26 points.
“I was so shocked by our lack of energy,” Orange head coach Felisha Leggette-Jack said after the defeat. “We made a decision to not be energetically ready to go. One team was running and the other was waiting to be trapped.”
Individually, guard Carleigh Wenzel was unstoppable for Virginia Tech. The redshirt junior supplied a team-high 18 points and went 4-4 from beyond the arc. However, the guard wasn’t the only one to shine for the Hokies. VT had five players in double figures including Wenzel, guard Samyha Suffren who had 16 points, guard Mackenzie Nelson and forward Carys Baker who both had 13, and forward Kilah Freelon who provided 12 points. Despite being last in the conference in three-point percentage shooting 27% from deep entering the contest, the Hokies shot a season-high 67% against the Orange.
“We just didn’t bring the energy,” Leggette-Jack stated when asked what led to Virginia Tech’s success from behind the arc. “We wanted them to slow down so we can be right there with them and we’re going to fix that in the morning.”
Syracuse tries to get back in the win column when it hits the road visiting Virginia (12-3, 4-0 ACC) Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. EST from John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, V.A. For all coverage of the second-half of SU’s season, follow @JaredValentin_ and @mhoffnyc on X/Twitter!
