Five Takeaways: #22 Syracuse 79 #15 Notre Dame 65

Syracuse women's basketball picked up its most impressive win of the season with a 79-65 win at 15th ranked Notre Dame Thursday night. Here are five takeaways from the victory.

1. Dyaisha Fair

For the second time this year, Notre Dame had no answer for Dyaisha Fair. While she was not as efficient this time around, going just 7-19 from the floor, she did score a game high 25 points and was 4-8 from three point range. On top of that, the smallest player on the floor grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists and snatched three steals. Simply put, Notre Dame does not have anyone who has shown the ability to guard her. This is just the latest example of what has been a special season for Fair to date.

2. Interior Domination

In the first game, Syracuse dominated the paint on both ends to get the victory. In the rematch Thursday night, it was more of the same. Syracuse outrebounded Notre Dame 50-34, had more second chance points (23-4) and won the points in the paint battle 40-24. Syracuse was the more physical team and Notre Dame could not handle it. Kyra Wood was especially dominant with 13 rebounds and six blocks. Notre Dame's leading rebounder had seven boards. Syracuse had four players with at least that many.

3. Alaina Rice

Dyaisha Fair will get most of the headlines and deservedly so, but Alaina Rice was fantastic in this game. She scored a season high 19 points on 7-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. It seemed like any time Notre Dame would start to gain momentum, she should hit a shot. She routinely took her defender off the bounce and got great looks in the lane. It was a fantastic performance that was a big reason why Syracuse was victorious.

4. Defense

The Syracuse defense was physical, aggressive and relentless. The Orange held Notre Dame to just 33% shooting. The Irish came in shooting 48% from the floor on the season. In addition, Syracuse forced 12 Notre Dame turnovers. Hannah Hidalgo was just 7-18 shooting. Sonia Citron was 4-17. Those are Notre Dame's two best players. The Orange made both very inefficient players. Impressive.

5. Statement

Despite being 16-2 with two wins over then top 15 teams coming into Thursday night's game, Syracuse was ranked just 22nd in the country. This is in large part because pollsters still let their preseason prognostications dictate rankings despite being more than halfway through the season. Few thought Syracuse would be this good and they are reluctant to buy in. Well, this was yet another statement to any remaining doubters. It is one thing to pick up big wins at home against highly ranked opponents. It is another to do it on the road. It is yet another to do so in dominant fashion. This Syracuse team is talented. This Syracuse team is together. This Syracuse team is for real.

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