Syracuse Loses Fourth in Five Games as Louisville Tops the Orange
Syracuse Women’s Basketball lost to Louisville for the second time this season after a 79-67 loss in the JMA Dome Sunday afternoon.
Syracuse offense came out strong at the start, but lost their lead going into the second quarter.
Alaina Rice and Dyaisha Fair, both key players for the Orange, went out during the first quarter with injuries. Rice with an ankle and Fair after colliding with a Louisville player at the net.
The Orange trailed the Cardinals 27-15 with just over seven minutes left in the first half, but Fair made her way off the bench and back on the court to shoot for 3.
Fair contributed 11 pts in the first half, going 3-3 from FG range and 3-3 on 3PT's.
‘Cuse took the lead 36-34 going into the second half and put up a good fight going into the 3rd quarter of play.
Georgia Woolley recorded 20 pts against the Cardinals leading in scoring for the Orange mostly due to her continuous shots at the basket. Woolley was 6-15 on FG and 3-7 on 3PT’s
Cuse lost the lead at the end of the 3rd with the Cardinals up 50-48. While Rice made her way back onto the hardwood with around 3:00 minutes left, it wasn’t enough to create a comeback for the Orange.
Woolley tied the game up 54-54 with 1:30 left in the game, but ‘Cuse wasn’t able to come back into the lead for the remainder of the game.
The first half had the Orange getting a lot of their points shooting from long range. Whatever adjustment Louisville made in the locker room at halftime put a stop to a lot of these shots, including a really nice block on Rice’s 3PT attempt in the 4th quarter.
Injuries were also an issue for the Orange with Rice, Fair, and Woolley being out for chunks of the game, and underclassmen having to sub in. Both younger and more experienced players lost control of the ball giving Louisville easy chances to steal. Woolley even passed the ball straight to the Cardinals during the 3rd quarter.
Syracuse has a lot to work on in terms of consistent shots and consistent aggression out on the court.
The Orange are on the road next against Virginia Tech on Thursday, tip-off at 7PM.
