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Dyaisha Fair sat on the bench to start the fourth quarter. She had already scored over 20 points to give Syracuse an insecure lead.

When Fair returned, she immediately controlled the tempo on her first possession. After a UAlbany miss, Fair rushed up the floor as SU’s primary ball handler and looked to create a shot. While she had some success with runners, Fair’s next floater was a complete airball.

But Fair wasn’t alone. Asia Strong lurked under the hoop, collected Fair’s miss and scored on a layup to give the Orange a 63-56 lead, causing the Great Danes to call a timeout. As this happened, over 6,000 local school children screamed and excitedly watched as the Orange eventually ballooned their lead to over 20 points.

Syracuse (10-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) struggled to even maintain the lead for most of the first half as UAlbany (6-8, 0-0 America East) made nearly half of its shots. But as Fair heated up, finishing with 26 points, the Orange outscored the Great Danes 55-30 in the final 20 minutes. This included 30 points in the fourth quarter alone. After numerous lead changes, SU won 87-64 to end its nonconference slate and remain undefeated at home.

“This is what they call a trap game,” SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “I don’t know why they call it a trap because Albany is a very good team…But a good team beat a good team.”

The Orange looked for a fast start against the Great Danes, but to no avail. Fair got SU’s first possession notching the rebound and dumping the ball down to Teisha Hyman, whose shot hit the rim. The two teams began the game a combined 5-of-17 from the field.

But UAlbany’s Morgan Haney converted a 3-pointer from the left wing. Minutes earlier, Kayla Cooper drove down the left side of the lane for a layup, then Freja Werth came back down and scored on a long 2-pointer from the right side.

SU disrupted UAlbany’s passing lanes, though, creating a faster pace through defensive stops. Cheyenne McEvans also got a steal, interrupting the Great Danes’ passing lane and scoring an open layup to make the score 13-10.

Even with the 10:30 a.m. starting time, the only morning tip the Orange will have this season, they still came with physicality.

“We knew it was going to be different,” Georgia Woolley said. “But we locked in and gave extra energy in the warmups and we were ready.”

In the final 30 seconds of the quarter, Woolley was a defensive presence again, blocking Great Dane Lucia Decortes. But McEvans couldn’t score on the other end. UAlbany’s Haney waited patiently for the clock to wind down, kicking it to Werth who nailed her 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Great Danes a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

But Woolley countered to start the second frame. In the quarter’s opening possession, she faced some contact and scored the left-handed layup to tie the game. But Syracuse still struggled, going on a three-minute scoring drought in the second quarter. Asia Strong and Woolley both attempted long 3-pointers, but could only hit the rim.

Meanwhile, Werth dominated, scoring 10 points in the first half alone. She got an and-one, then scored another layup to make the score 24-19. The Great Danes finished the half, making nearly 50% of their shots and 40% of their 3-point attempts.

Fair finally ended the Orange’s three-minute scoring drought with a speedy transition layup. The Orange now initiated a full-court press to try and throw off the Great Danes.

With just over three minutes remaining in the first half, Alaina Rice got the rebound, then kicked out to Fair, who faced contact and completed the three-point play. Less than a minute later, Strong got a tip on the ball before Woolley eventually got the steal. Fair contributed on defense again, notching a steal and setting up Hyman for a jumper from the left side.

Fair continued to set the tone, finishing with double-digit points for the 12th-straight game. She has yet to finish with less than 10 points. With under eight minutes left in the third quarter, Fair banked in a long floater to give the Orange a 38-37 advantage. Throughout the game, she drew seven fouls in the lane, which she said was key for SU’s guards.

“We knew that they weren’t laterally fast enough to guard us off the bounce,” Fair said of UAlbany. “So just getting in there and attacking their defense was key for us.”

On SU’s next possession, she sent a slick pass to Strong, who scored on a jumper, firing up head coach Felisha Legette-Jack and forcing the Great Danes to call a timeout. The Orange were on an 8-3 scoring run to start the second half.

In less than two minutes, Fair made the Great Danes pay for their mistakes. She nailed a fadeaway jumper as she fell to the ground, then got a steal to score on a layup to make the score 44-38 in favor of SU. But UAlbany then scored seven points in less than a minute to regain the lead for only a minute until Dariauna Lewis scored on a layup.

As the two teams continued to grab the lead, Fair passed to Woolley on an inbound pass before getting the ball right back. She paused and then stepped back for a 3-pointer to give her 21 points. On the Orange’s next possession, Strong finally knocked down a 3-pointer to increase SU’s lead to six. Strong made two free throws near the end of the third quarter for Syracuse to make the score 57-49, its largest lead of the day.

Strong initiated the fourth quarter with a long range 2-pointer from the left side. But Cooper found an open look and cut UAlbany’s deficit to five points. After taking an off-balance shot, Hyman hit a fadeaway 2-pointer from the left side while facing contact as the shot clock expired to make the score 61-54. The Orange were controlling the back-and-forth pace without Fair for the first three minutes before she came back in.

After Fair’s lob to Strong, she crossed up Haney, made a teardrop off the board and drew the foul. Syracuse now had its first double-digit lead of the night, leading to Fair cracking a smile. On SU’s next possession, Lewis scored on a euro step, giving the Orange a much more comfortable lead. Woolley then came out of nowhere to give SU 70 points.

Midway through the final frame, Syracuse went on a 17-2 scoring run in less than three minutes, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Hyman to keep SU undefeated at the JMA Wireless Dome. Heading into the nine-day break before traveling to Louisville, Legette-Jack said she never focuses on the early deficits or the solid comebacks. For her, it’s about the progression.

“I’m thinking about how we are progressing,” Legette-Jack said. “The pace we’re trying to create, the defense we’re trying to make… I’m looking to balance that all out and then we know we’re going to be a better team in January.”

Published on December 20, 2022 at 12:47 pm

Contact Henry: henrywobrien1123@gmail.com