Fourth Quarter Dooms Syracuse in Upset Bid of Notre Dame
After a keeping it close against #7 Notre Dame through three quarters, Syracuse was dominated in the fourth, losing 72-56 Sunday afternoon.
Before the fourth, Syracuse’s defense and rebounding skills made up for some of their shots not falling. The Orange were only down five heading into the locker room and put up a fight against the Irish. The team was able to block shots and get rebounds that kept them in a close game against a top 10 team. Overall, Syracuse had 39 rebounds and forced 11 Notre Dame turnovers, scoring 11 points off a turnover.
Offensively, Syracuse struggled with only two of their players scoring in double digits. Dyaisha Fair led the Orange with 14 points and four assists. Asia Strong had 11 points off the bench. Teisha Hyman was 2-11 in the paint and only had four points the entire game. After having back to back games with double-doubles, Dariauna Lewis only hit one shot all night. She also only took four shots all night, which impacted the result of the game.
Notre Dame was led by Olivia Miles who had 23 points and 7 assists as well as rebounds. She shot about 74% in the paint and made the difference in the matchup. Dara Mabrey followed with 15 points. In the 4th quarter, Notre Dame outscored Syracuse 22-11 where the Fighting Irish shot 60% in the paint and hit 4 of 8 shots beyond the arc. Syracuse’s shots didn’t fall and with their inability to shut down Notre Dame on defense, the Orange were unable to make up the difference to pull out a win.
In their toughest matchup in the season thus far, the Orange showed grit in keeping up with Notre Dame for the majority of the game. Although they didn’t come out with a win, if they can get more of their roster scoring in double digits and decrease turnovers, the Orange can win in these close games.
Syracuse is now 13-5 overall and 4-3 in the ACC. Its next game is on Thursday against Georgia Tech in Atlanta at 7 p.m.
