Syracuse's Upset Bid Against #6 NC State Comes Up Just Short
New Year's Day left the Syracuse women’s basketball team with tears in their eyes as they lost their first home game to the #6 NC State Wolfpack 56-54. It all came down to one final play, and the result left fans speechless.
“We did some things until the last second that says a lot about what we’re trying to become here,” said Syracuse’s Coach Felisha Legette-Jack. “When you have this opportunity to have number six on the blocks like that and try to knock them out. It does take you to emotion. It means that we care, it means that we’re hungry, and it means that we want more, and our best is yet to come.”
Though the game started off rocky for Syracuse as they trailed the Wolfpack the whole first half, the Orange seemed to take a turn for the better in the third quarter of the game. The one responsible for this dominant third quarter, was none other than Georgia Woolley. The Orange had a total of 23 points scored in the third quarter alone. But it was in the fourth quarter that the momentum switched. Syracuse failed to score one point in the fourth quarter until Alaina Rice came down and scored two points with only 1 minute and 57 seconds left to go in the game. Alaina Rice helped get the Orange to a two-point game with about 1 minute left to go but it came down to one play that would decide who would come out on top.
The last minute of the game was back and forth action. Georgia Woolley made one of two free throws with just five seconds left in the game. Just when NC State had the ball back in their hands, Kyra Wood forced a jump ball. That gave Syracuse the ball down by one looking to win its 10th straight home game to start the season and remain undefeated in the Dome. With 3.9 seconds left in the game Syracuse subbed Teisha Hyman in for Alaina Rice.
Syracuse had the perfect play set up as an off ball screen freed up Dariauna Lewis who curled towards the basket. Hyman lobbed a pass in her direction, but it was too long and bounced off her finger tips out of bounds. An accurate pass would have given Lewis an open layup for the win. Instead, NC State made one of two free throws on the other end and a full court heave was well short.
“I was trying to throw the dice on whether I keep [Alaina Rice] out there for that last play because I thought that she could possibly hit that outside shot,” said Coach Jack. “But I thought that we could run the play and have Teisha make the pass. Sometimes as a coach you want to kick yourself. You wonder if we sat Teisha too long in order to get in there and make that pass. You know, this is our team loss, including myself. It didn’t go well.”
