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The paint has been a consistent area of attack for Syracuse this season. In its high-scoring win over Niagara, the Orange registered 54 points in the paint. SU followed that tally up with 36 against Saint Joseph’s last Sunday before notching 38 down low in its loss to No. 11 Maryland Wednesday.

Entering Sunday’s contest with Fairleigh Dickinson, which averaged 25 paint points in its first four games, SU highlighted the paint as a point of emphasis to target the Knights.

“We came into the game focused, locked in, because we had the higher advantage and the strength inside, and I thought we did a good job,” Syracuse center Izabel Varejão said.

Varejão, who scored 10 points and snatched seven rebounds, led a dominant showing for the Orange in the post. In its 77-58 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (4-1, 0-0 Northeast Conference), Syracuse (2-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) outscored the Knights 40-6 in the paint.

Despite the comfortable win and success in the post, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack wanted to see more from her team rebounding and defending down low. Legette-Jack said she aims for her team to have 35 rebounds per half and not be outrebounded. In SU’s victory against FDU, it managed 35 rebounds throughout the game and was outrebounded by three.

“We fly by somebody and don’t box them out and they get the rebound,” Legette-Jack said. “And that’s a recipe for disaster. (Fairleigh Dickinson) didn’t really want to rebound. They just wanted to get the ball back and take a 3.”

The Knights launched 32 triples, cashing in on 10-of-32 (31.3%) attempts from beyond the arc. Fifty-six percent of FDU’s field goals were 3s. Legette-Jack said FDU’s strategy of trading 2s with 3s could have been an effective game plan to outdo the Orange, but SU’s down-low scoring put it over the top.

Syracuse’s concerted effort to get the ball down low was apparent early. On its first possession, Dominique Camp fed the ball to Varejão, who was posted up in the paint. Varejão spun her defender, then banked a floater off the backboard to get the Orange in a rhythm.

On SU’s next offensive possession, Georgia Woolley ducked into the post but fell to the ground. As she stumbled, she dumped the ball to a cutting Varejão. The Brazilian’s layup was no good, but Kyra Wood brought down the rebound and made the put-back. Wood finished with a team-high 12 points along with seven rebounds on a healthy 6-for-7 (85.7%) shooting clip.

Wood again converted on an offensive rebound early, when she cleaned up her own miss to make it 7-0 Syracuse.

With a little over a minute left in the first quarter, Camp threaded a pass to Saniaa Wilson, who was making a run toward the hoop. Wilson caught the ball in stride, netting the shot and getting fouled in the process for an and-one opportunity.

“I think we have a really strong post team,” Legette-Jack said. “It’s Kyra, Saniaa, Journey (Thompson) and we’re implementing Keira (Scott) into that position as well.”

Any time FDU ventured inside SU’s paint, it would be met with a size disadvantage. The Knights’ tallest player was 6-foot-2, and when they went up against the 6-foot-3 Wood and 6-foot-5 Varejão, they were no match. Fairleigh Dickinson frequently drove inside before kicking it out to one of its shooters, who often attempted a 3.

On the rare instance when the Knights did put up a shot from close range, it didn’t go well for them. They finished 1-for-5 on layups.

Two minutes into the second quarter, FDU’s Teneisia Brown faced Wood up. Brown tried to get to the cup, but Wood blocked her shot. On the next play, the Knights hoisted a pass up to Bella Toomey on a fast break. Toomey went up for a layup but was met at the summit by Varejão, who swatted her shot out of bounds.

Syracuse did have mishaps in the paint Sunday, both finishing and rebounding, something Legette-Jack wants to focus on. On a sequence in the second quarter, the Orange had four close-range shots that all failed to drop. With the shot clock expiring later in the second quarter, Fairleigh Dickinson’s Ava Renninger hoisted a mid-range shot. The effort was an airball, but Brown grabbed the rebound past Varejão and converted the layup.

“I just think that it’s mental,” Legette-Jack said of the improvement she wants to see in SU’s post play. “It’s a mindset, and we haven’t really decided that we want to be extraordinary yet, and we’re working on that.”

But on FDU’s next possession, it was back to business as usual for the Orange. Brown went up for a shot inside. But Burrows and Wood both got their hands on the attempt, snuffing out the opportunity.

After scoring 20 paint points in the first half and holding FDU to four, SU matched its total of 20 following the break and held the Knights to just two points inside.

Legette-Jack said that in the past few years, she has not been a part of Syracuse’s “post breakdown,” but mentioned she is eager this season to lean more into coaching her team in that facet of the game. Legette-Jack speaks from experience, leading SU’s program in career rebounds per game and sitting seventh in career boards. And she sees something special in her bigs so far this season.

“I’ve been around this game for a long time, and this is the best group of bigs we’ve had here (at Syracuse) for sure, arguably in the last 13 years of my career,” Legette-Jack said. “And now we have to own our own power, and we’re on our way.”

Published on November 17, 2024 at 6:45 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal