A rocky road test staring at women’s basketball in Syracuse

competition.

Seven orange letters, one word, team motto.

After the team’s 89-71 victory over Pittsburgh, only one thing came to mind for Georgia Woolley.

it was a competition.

Syracuse are 11-4 and 2-2 in conference play, already tying the total wins the program posted a season ago. Orange at home he went 10-1, proving his dominance in front of a home crowd of 315.

However, traveling on the street is a completely different story. With just 1-3 that year, the bag-packed team’s only win came against Yale in a commanding comeback victory over the Bulldogs.

So how will Syracuse play against South Carolina’s Clemson Tigers? If history shows us anything this year, the favor belongs to the home team. looks almost reborn.

In two games in the new year, the Oranges barely lost to No. 6 North Carolina State University, 56-54, and beat the Panthers in Pittsburgh, 89-71. He’s been 1-1 since the ball hit the square, but there’s no sense that this team has lost.

Everything is firing on all cylinders. Georgia Woolley is the “IT” factor. His name is also mentioned in scout reports, such as scoring 23 points in consecutive games. She hit her three three-pointers against Pitt while adding some offensive putbacks and her five steals to lead the team. Her overall play smothers her defenses because she is not a one-trick pony.

For Daisha Fair, it might be time to change her name to Unfair. She scored just two points going into halftime against Pittsburgh. For a player who has scored in double digits in all of her last 14 games this season, she has not looked so good as Orange’s leading scorer.

All that change came right out of the break. Phair exploded in the second half with 22 points, hitting four from Downtown to lead the team in points. She built confidence in her face and found a rhythm that Syracuse fans had become accustomed to in her game.

Dariana Lewis, Asia Strong, and Kyla Wood evolve with each match. Strong is fearless in the basket and is not shy about trying threes. Dariana Lewis he scored 12 points and 4 blocks, while Kyla Wood scored 9 points and 3 blocks against Pitt. Wood kicks off her back-to-back game, showing her confidence and making her more deadly near the rim.

The question is, what will the fans get? Will it be a 26-point Louisville or 27-point Purdue performance? Or will she look like NC State when she shoots her 0-6 and breaks her pass inbounds that could win the game?

Taisha Hyman made the adjustment from shooting guard to point guard. Hyman has executed her intangibles with excellent passing, defense and rock well spread. She’s an asset to her, but hopefully she can put in another dominant road performance, as Syracuse fans have already seen.

Enough about Syracuse. Now let’s talk about our opponents, the Clemson Tigers.

Orange and Purple are tied with Syracuse at 11-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

Clemson are suffering their toughest loss of the season. A 31-point beatdown to ACC foe Florida State. Luckily for Clemson, the Tigers aren’t pushy at home. The team is 8-1 and he’s fielding his floor at home.

Clemson is very sly and plays tough defense. The Tigers average his 10.5 steals per game and make opponents pay by turning those forced turnovers into their own points.

The Tigers are 29% 3-point shooting all season long and 41% short of shooting from the field. This is not a towering team either. Syracuse will enjoy a low matchup due to the height advantage of Lewis, Strong and Wood.

A few names and numbers to know: No. 5 Amari Robinson and No. 22 Ruby Whitehorn. Both players are averaging over 12 points per game, shooting more than 50% of his shots within his 3-point range. They are both solid spot-up shooters and are fast in lane.

Amari Robinson is averaging 12.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season and has scored in double figures in 11 of 16 games.

Despite lacking deep balls, second-placed Daisha Bradford hit three in a row. She had the most attempts at 23, with 70 in a season, and she’s a quick trigger in basketball that requires a hand on her face.

This is no easy feat for Syracuse on the move playing in unfamiliar territory. However, if this team has been competing since the new year and maintains the same mindset, Orange should put up a great fight heading into a thrilling ACC battle.

Tip-off is set for Sunday, January 8 at Littlejohn Coliseum at 2:00, with the game broadcast on WAER and the McClurg team’s countdown starting at 1:30.