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Trailing by one, SMU had 16.3 seconds left in overtime to defeat Syracuse. Out of a timeout, the Mustangs’ Zanai Jones received an inbounds pass in the frontcourt. As her back foot touched the block ‘S’ logo at midcourt of the JMA Wireless Dome, she scanned her options. Jones cut left, still well beyond the arc as the game clock dropped below 10 seconds. Jones then fed the ball to SMU’s leading scorer, Nya Robertson, just in front of half court.

The 5-foot-7 guard cut inside the arc. She was met by SU’s primary defender Georgia Woolley. Robertson stopped on the wing of the paint. She then gathered, moved past Woolley and stepped inside. There, Robertson uncorked a floater with under four seconds to go. The ball hung above the rim, ricocheting off the backboard, then the back iron and then the front rim. Finally, it dropped.

With 1.2 seconds to go, Dominique Camp could only hoist a half-court heave. The Orange’s players bowed their heads. Woolley crouched to the ground, her hands pounding the floor.

“I thought we did a pretty good job with that last shot, and they went to their go-to player, and she came through for them,” Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said postgame.

Syracuse’s (6-9, 0-4 Atlantic Coast) winless start to conference play continued as it fell 72-71 in overtime to SMU (10-6, 2-2 ACC) on Robertson’s game-winner. The defeat extends SU’s worst start to conference action since the 2005-06 season, when it began Big East play 0-7.

Before Robertson’s clincher, Syracuse grabbed the lead with 16.3 seconds left in overtime. Woolley missed an open corner 3, but the ball fell to Izabel Varejão, who floated in a shot to make it 71-70. Varejão and Journey Thompson, who got her first start of the season with Kyra Wood still in concussion protocol, combined for 28 points and 14 rebounds.

Robertson, who entered third in the ACC in scoring with 20.3 points per game, was efficient all morning. She scored 28 points, capped by the game-sealing shot.

The game went into overtime after SU couldn’t hold onto a late three-point lead, mismanaging the clock in the final seconds. The extra session started with two fruitless SU possessions before Jessica Peterson grabbed a defensive rebound and converted a layup on the other end. Peterson, who entered the game leading the ACC with 12.5 boards per game, scored eight points — four of which came in overtime — and seven rebounds but was limited to 23 minutes due to foul trouble and an early injury.

Woolley’s shooting struggles continued Thursday, finishing with a 5-for-16 clip, but she led the Orange with 18 points and came alive in overtime. The Australian notched Syracuse’s first points of the period when she attacked the hoop to tie the game at 66 with 2:31 remaining. The finish moved the senior to over 1,000 career points at Syracuse.

On SMU’s next possession, Peterson was back to work. She backed down Saniaa Wilson down low and floated in a 2 to hand the Mustangs the lead back. Woolley ran the Orange’s offense again, getting a contested floater to drop, knotting the score at 68-68 with just over two minutes left.

Robertson drove to the hole for SMU but missed her second straight shot in the extra period. TK Pitts snatched the offensive board and was fouled at the 1:30 mark. Pitts, a 64.3% free throw shooter, succumbed to the late-game pressure, missing both attempts.

As the clock hit one minute, Woolley bricked a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, but Sophie Burrows gathered the offensive board and was fouled. SU, which came in averaging the 15th-most offensive boards in Division I, gathered 11 first-half offensive boards to SMU’s 10 defensive rebounds and ended with 19 offensive rebounds and 25 second-chance points.

At the line, Burrows only made one free throw, but it gave SU a one-point edge. Robertson isolated for the Mustangs, driving inside and banking a layup off the backboard and in over Varejão. SMU was back ahead 70-69 with 34 seconds to go.

Though Varejão gave SU a late lead, Robertson had the final word.

“This is a game we should have came through but we didn’t, and we need to get better,” Legette-Jack said.

Syracuse was on the precipice of winning the game in regulation. With 2:05 to go in the fourth quarter, Woolley split a pair of free throws to tie it at 60-60, but SMU was called for a foul on the rebound. Next, Woolley drove inside and got fouled, heading back to the line for two more. She made both to hand SU a two-point lead with 1:52 on the clock. On the other end, Robertson split a pair of free throws.

With 1:12 to go in the fourth quarter, Varejão sank a tough mid-range jumper, giving SU a 64-61 lead. SMU couldn’t answer as Jones’ 3 rattled off. Burrows grabbed the rebound and the Mustangs had to resort to fouling with less than 50 seconds left. They fouled Camp, giving SU an inbounds pass with 39 seconds left. But Camp’s pass sailed out of bounds, turning the ball over.

“We lacked discipline down the stretch,” Legette-Jack said. “We were jumping up and down. We threw the ball out of bounds and turned it over up there. We got to get more disciplined … The players got to get smarter, and we didn’t show up today.”

The Mustangs made the Orange pay for their giveaway. Jones found an open Kaysia Woods in the corner, and she drilled a triple to level the score at 64 with 31.2 left.

With the game and shot clock almost aligned, Syracuse had the chance to take the final shot. But instead of waiting for the clock to near zero, Woolley threw up a contested floater with five seconds to go, and it missed.

SU escaped regulation after SMU couldn’t take advantage of the 4.8 seconds remaining. But it couldn’t survive the final 16.3 seconds of overtime, where Robertson called game.

“This is a game we should have came through, but we didn’t, and we need to get better,” Legette-Jack said.

Published on January 9, 2025 at 1:09 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal