Syracuse Outpaces SMU, Shoots Way to 78-69 Win in ACC Opener

By Jake Klein | @kleinjake_

On the road at SMU in its ACC opener, Syracuse Women’s Basketball came storming out of the gate. The Orange outscored the Mustangs 25-9 in the first quarter and rode that momentum to a 78-69 win at Moody Coliseum Sunday.

After Syracuse went 0-16 from three in Wednesday’s win over Auburn, the Orange bounced back and hit a season-high 11 triples today.

“We kept shooting,” SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said after the game. “We’re not going to be defined by a miss. We’re going to be defined by our character. What does our character look like? Do we quit when it gets tough or do we brace through it and go through the fire?”

“This is a team that sees the fire right in front of them. But, in order to get to their goals, they’ve got to go forward through the fire.”

The win also marked the long-awaited breakout of SU’s leading returning scorer, Sophie Burrows, who had struggled through Syracuse’s first eight games, shooting just 11 percent from deep. Today, though, Burrows exploded for five three-pointers — more than she had for the season entering Sunday — and led SU with 28 points.

“She’s playing for a coach who allows her to play free,” Legette-Jack said. “Your job is to shoot the ball because you practice it. I tell her, ‘you might make it, you might miss it.’”

“She understood the assignment. She worked with [Assistant] Coach Amber [Moore], and Coach Amber got her right.”

At 8-1 with an ACC win now under its belt, Syracuse returns home to face Colgate on Wednesday. Tipoff between the Orange and Raiders at the Dome is set for 7 p.m. Follow @CitrusTVSports on X for updates.