Support The Daily Orange this holiday season! The money raised between now and the end of the year will go directly toward aiding our students. Donate today.

Just 10 days after suffering a lopsided loss to Notre Dame, Syracuse’s offense returned to form.

Midway through the second quarter against Binghamton, SU swung the ball in quick succession to create a basket. Sophie Burrows caught the ball on the left side of the arc and swung it to Dominique Camp at the top of the key.

With the Bearcats struggling to keep up on their defensive assignments, Journey Thompson was left wide open on the right block and Camp found her for a quick deuce. The basket put Syracuse ahead 30-21 and marked one of Camp’s six first-half assists. Camp made her first start since Nov. 20 against UAlbany and tallied eight assists, her most since the season opener (9).

With Syracuse (5-6, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) firing on all cylinders, it blew out Binghamton (6-4, 0-0 America East) 87-60 in its penultimate nonconference game. Early on, SU shot 51% to take an 11-point halftime lead. The Orange’s offense continued to tear apart the Bearcats in the second half, raising their tally to a season-high eight 3s. Georgia Woolley had a team-high 18 points, while freshman Madeline Potts contributed a career-high 9 points off the bench.

Woolley, who entered the contest as SU’s leading scorer with 14.8 points per game, helped set the tone for the Orange. Early in the first, Woolley caught the ball at the free throw line with her back to Binghamton’s Camryn Fauria. She turned around and nailed a jumper, giving the Orange a 4-0 lead to start the game.

Then, Syracuse received stability from its frontcourt, a position where it’s faced depth issues in recent contests. Izabel Varejão entered the game at the eight-minute mark and made an immediate impact with a deuce. On the next possession, Camp found Varejão at the same spot as Woolley’s jumper, and Varejão knocked down the shot to lift Syracuse’s lead to 10-4.

Varejão continued to sting the Bearcats from the mid-range area. She hit her second jumper of the contest at the 5:27 mark of the first quarter to halt a 5-2 Binghamton run.

With Syracuse in front 16-9, a hole opened up on the perimeter of SU’s defense. Entering the game, the Orange had allowed one of the top 30 3-point percentages in the nation, per HerHoopStats, and Binghamton took advantage. Bella Pucci found Kaylee Krysztof on two triples, cutting SU’s lead to four late in the first quarter.

As the Bearcats threatened to close the gap, Potts gave Binghamton a taste of its own medicine. Woolley dished the ball out to an unguarded Potts for a 3, giving Syracuse a 22-17 advantage.

In the final minute of the first quarter, Potts swished another 3, establishing Syracuse’s first double-digit lead at 27-17. Potts, who entered averaging two points per game, had already set a career-high on triples in the first half.

SU’s defense also slowed Binghamton early. After the Orange registered four blocks in the first 10 minutes, they continued to wreak havoc. Woolley and Kyra Wood double-teamed the Bearcats’ leading scorer, Jadyn Weltz, causing her to pass it into Camp’s hands. That was one of the 23 turnovers that SU caused in the contest. Meanwhile, the Orange only turned the ball over 11 times.

Midway through the second quarter, the Orange went on an 11-4 run, highlighted by a Burrows triple. Krysztof responded with a triple, her third in as many tries, but Woolley answered with a turnaround jumper to lift SU up 40-28.

Camp showed that she was not just a dominant passer in her return to the starting lineup, but a scorer too. After collecting a flurry of assists, Camp assessed the Bearcats’ defense and drove for a baseline floater late in the second to grow SU’s lead to 42-31.

While Binghamton was in a two-minute scoring drought, SU ramped up its defensive pressure. Burrows caused a jump ball to get possession back to Syracuse with under two minutes in the second quarter and Woolley recorded a block, helping the Orange head to halftime ahead 45-34.

After scoring 10 points in the first half, Woolley was SU’s first player to score in the third quarter. Camp found her for a triple, the Orange’s first points of the half

Weltz netted her third 3 of the game to cut SU’s lead to 48-41 in the third, but Syracuse responded by attacking the paint. The Orange’s healthy frontcourt shined as Burrows, Varejão and Wood each converted layups to stretch SU’s back in front 54-41 midway through the third.

Binghamton tried to slow Syracuse with a timeout, but it couldn’t be stopped. The Orange scored the next nine points to take a 63-41 lead. Potts then connected on her third 3 of the game on a pass from Woolley.

Woolley began to take over in the final five minutes of the third. Behind her five points and two assists, the Orange outscored the Bearcats 26-10 in the frame and took a 27-point lead into the fourth.

Early in the fourth, Thompson went on a personal 6-0 scoring run to stretch SU’s lead to 32 points, its largest of the season. Binghamton responded on an 8-0 run midway through the fourth, but the Orange’s lead proved insurmountable, as Syracuse earned a comfortable victory.

Published on December 18, 2024 at 9:33 pm

Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32