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Syracuse was reeling after a once 17-point lead quickly evaporated. For three quarters, the Orange seemed to be in full control, until Miami started to make its run. Through aggressive pressing and poor shot selection from SU, the Hurricanes only trailed by five after a Ja’Leah Williams layup.

As SU looked to quell Miami’s run on the ensuing possession, it seemed as if there was a lid on the basket. Dyaisha Fair missed a drive inside, before Georgia Woolley’s 3-pointer rimmed out. Kyra Wood’s shot rang the back iron, but SU retained possession.

With the shot clock winding down, Fair controlled the ball on the left wing. Williams guarded Fair and Woolley’s defender, Jaida Patrick, left Woolley open. Instead of chucking up a deep 3, Fair dished to Woolley, who had missed all five of her 3-point attempts to that point. But the junior stepped into the shot with confidence, swishing home Syracuse’s most important basket of the game as its lead increased to eight.

Down the stretch, Woolley repeatedly came up clutch. The junior scored 10 of her season-high 24 points in the fourth quarter as No. 19 Syracuse (21-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated Miami (16-8, 6-7 ACC) 71-60. Woolley’s late triple broke a three minute field goal drought for the Orange and all but sealed their victory. As Fair struggled shooting the ball — going 4-for-14 from the field — Woolley stepped up to lead all scorers. Her scoring total was the most she’s tallied since finishing with 30 against Columbia on March 24, 2023.

Often labeled by Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack as “one of the toughest players she’s ever coached”, Woolley showed it against Miami. She started early with a baseline drive and finish through contact to put Syracuse up 5-2 less than two minutes into the game.

Three minutes later Alyssa Latham was tightly covered along the sideline, but Woolley cut away from her defender to flash open. Her first step created space as she rose up and knocked down a mid-range jumper to give SU a six-point lead.

A bucket in transition followed by another shot conversion gave Woolley six straight points as Syracuse increased its lead to 17-10. Woolley’s 4-for-8 effort in the first quarter helped SU lead by six.

She then got into double figures with a tough fadeaway in the lane, the 16th time she’s hit that mark this season. When Woolley reaches double figures, the Orange are 13-3.

After the hot start to the game, Woolley wasn’t as aggressive in the second, with just two field goal attempts. But Syracuse still maintained a rhythm on the offensive end, shooting 51.5% from the field in the first half as it led by 11. It was the first time since Jan. 7 against Boston College that the Orange held a double-digit halftime lead.

The smooth sailing for Syracuse continued in the second half, as Woolley continued to make an impact on both ends. SU switched between a man-to-man and zone defense at times as Woolley sat at the top. She used her length to disrupt Miami guards Williams, Shayeann Day-Wilson and the rest of the Hurricanes who shot just 2-for-15 in the third quarter.

Plenty of times this season, Syracuse has been forced to play from behind due to lackluster starts, but due to Woolley’s hot offensive start, Syracuse never trailed against Miami. Although she cooled off in the middle quarters with five points on just four shots, Woolley came alive late when SU needed it most.

A Latham score put Syracuse up 53-36 heading into the fourth quarter — its largest lead of the game. But then Miami slowly chipped away at SU’s lead. Four turnovers and a three-minute field goal drought allowed the Hurricanes to make it a seven-point game 5:10 remaining.

To that point, Syracuse’s only two made shots in the fourth quarter were from Woolley, who attempted to keep the Orange afloat. When Syracuse needed a bucket, instead of turning to Fair — its normal go-to option — it looked to Woolley.

Tightly guarded by Day-Wilson, Woolley attempted to use a Latham screen at the 3-point arc, but Day-Wilson cut it off. Then Woolley used her aggressiveness against her as Day-Wilson bit too hard when Woolley hesitated before accelerating forward. Getting past her defender, Woolley pulled up at the free throw line to swish home her third field goal of the quarter.

But Miami cut Syracuse’s lead to 61-56 with less than three minutes remaining. Then came Woolley’s first 3-pointer of the night. Woolley’s triple took the air out of Miami’s comeback attempt as the Hurricanes hit just two field goals the rest of the game.

Syracuse needed every single one of Woolley’s buckets down the stretch as the Orange held on for their fourth straight win with four regular season games remaining.

Published on February 15, 2024 at 10:51 pm

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