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With a trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament secured, Syracuse’s regular-season finale with Boston College Sunday determined seeding for the conference tournament. A win for the Orange would give them momentum heading into the postseason. But it also was a rematch of SU’s worst loss of the season and head coach Felisha Legette-Jack’s worst defeat of her three-year tenure.

On Jan. 19 without leading scorer Georgia Woolley, Syracuse were annihilated 92-51 in Chestnut Hill. After the decimation, Legette-Jack said the Orange were in a “rebuild situation.” But SU strung together enough wins to return to the ACC Tournament.

Syracuse sought revenge for its lopsided loss to BC earlier this year. It led 45-20 at the half, spurred by domination on the boards and a 34-12 paint points advantage, 11 second-chance points and 12 Eagles turnovers. It wasn’t close Sunday, as the Orange dispatched the Eagles for a string of consecutive victories heading to the ACC Tournament.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (12-17, 6-12 ACC) 82-57 win over Boston College (15-16, 6-12 ACC) Sunday:

Syracuse find mixed success from 3

Three-pointers aren’t a major part of Syracuse’s game. It entered attempting the fewest triples in the ACC at 464, with Duke putting up the second-fewest at 503. SU has made the second-fewest treys in the conference at 154, though Wake Forest has made the fewest at just 153.

Nonetheless, Syracuse’s first three shots were 3s. Sophie Burrows’ shot three seconds into the game caromed off the rim. Next time down the floor, Georgia Woolley sank a 3 on the move near the top of the arc. Then, Dominique Camp created some space in the right corner but couldn’t cash in.

SU had little success in the rest of the first quarter as it kept unleashing 3s. It finished the first with a 1-for-6 line from outside. After five straight missed triples, Burrows reeled one in from the right wing to extend the Orange’s lead to 28-12 at the 6:57 mark of the second quarter.

Though SU shot 26.3% from 3 on the day, Burrows connected on a fadeaway from the left corner to push its cushion to 24 points. Izabel Varejão and Madeline Potts tacked on triples in the fourth quarter. And, in the end, it didn’t need to get hot from distance to secure a comfortable victory.

Woolley plays facilitator

Thursday against Pitt, Woolley had a career game. Her 25 points were a career-high, while her nine assists were also a career-high. On top of her team-high 19 points, Woolley seemed intent to continue to serve as a facilitator Sunday. She drove down the left baseline and dumped one to Kyra Wood over the top of BC’s defense for an easy lay-in.

Woolley fed the paint again at the 4:58 mark of the first quarter, connecting with Varejão for her third layup of the contest. Woolley served a nice pass on the move to a posted up Saniaa Wilson near the midway point of the first quarter, but Wilson was called for charging as she tried to drive to the hoop.

Woolley continued her connection with the post players, finding Wilson for a deuce midway into the second quarter on a no-look pass.

Woolley built off her nine-assist performance Thursday with six more Sunday, finding her form as a facilitator just in time for the postseason.

Syracuse’s defense shuts down Todd-less BC

Last time it played BC in January, Syracuse surrendered 32 first-quarter points. It only allowed 10 Sunday. The uptick in defense came down to some self-inflicted Eagles’ mistakes, but SU forced five turnovers and held them to shoot 23.5% from the field in the first.

BC was also without leading scorer T’yana Todd, who is averaging 14.3 points per game, weakening its offense.

On top of her 10 first-quarter points, Wood held down the paint, not allowing any easy points alongside Varejão and Wilson. BC couldn’t get going on the outside either, going 0-for-3.

The suffocating defense translated into the second quarter, where SU again only allowed 10 points. Down low, the 5-foot-5 Olivia Schmitt took a charge in the paint, guarding Boston College’s Andrea Daley, firing up the Orange bench. A Syracuse double-team forced Daley into a travel. Then, on BC’s next trip down the floor, Daley traveled again. On the final possession of the first half, the Orange forced Boston College into a shot clock violation on a fadeaway 3 that fell short.

Woolley played an integral role defensively, including hitting the court to secure a jump ball in the final minutes of the first half and swiping a steal just three minutes into the third quarter.

The Eagles’ self-immolation continued when a Savannah Samuels 3 was annulled since she stepped out of bounds. Boston College’s 21 turnovers and SU’s 27 points off those giveaways played a key role in SU’s runaway win.

Wow, Wood

Wood has stepped up significantly this season. After only putting up 6.1 points per game last year, she’s averaged 11.4 points per game this season. She continues to be a force on the boards, too, pulling down 6.9 rebounds per game. In the regular-season finale, she showed her immense value to the Orange.

Wood scored 10 points in the first quarter alone, matching the entire Boston College team’s tally in that quarter. None were flashy, just well-executed layups after getting in the right position in the paint.

The senior started the second half with an impressive block of Dontavia Waggoner after Varejão fell to the court on defense. Then, she raced to the other end to convert a layup.

Wood finished with 14 points and six rebounds. She also propelled SU’s domination in paint points, where the Orange outscored Boston College 50-32, as well as in rebounding, where SU held a 46-42 advantage.

Published on March 2, 2025 at 6:06 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal