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Georgia Woolley stole the ball twice to reinstate a 20-point Syracuse lead over Seton Hall in the fourth quarter.

After the first steal, she rifled ahead to Dyaisha Fair, who flipped a circus shot up and in while avoiding contact, leaning away from the basket.

Then, Woolley intercepted an errant Seton Hall inbounds pass and stood isolated near the 3-point arc before Teisha Hyman stepped forward as reinforcement. Hyman caught the ball near the top of the key and pulled up from the mid-range to swish the jumper.

After a low-scoring opening quarter from both sides, a strong second period showing for the Orange, fueled by efficient shot making, persistent rebounding and converting off of turnovers helped Syracuse (20-12, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) to a comfortable 72-54 win over Seton Hall (18-15, 10-10 Big East). Fair notched a game-high 24 points for the second straight game and Woolley tacked on an additional 19 to help SU set up a Super 16 showdown against Colombia.

In Syracuse’s first round WNIT matchup against Kent State, Fair’s 24 points led the Orange to a dominant 84-56 victory. But, just three minutes into SU’s meeting with Seton Hall, off of a successful drive to the basket, Fair hobbled to the bench after tweaking her ankle. Hyman took her place.

Hyman couldn’t find an opening on the right side of the floor. She probed a couple times but found no luck. Forced to retreat, she took a couple of dribbles before finding Alaina Rice on a back-cut. Rice made the open layup.

Syracuse started the second quarter with back-to-back buckets. First, Dariauna Lewis drove hard for an aggressive left-handed finish. Then, Woolley added on two more after a Hyman steal in the backcourt led to an easy run-out.

On the next possession, Woolley drove to her left before spinning and converting on a floater. The basket was her sixth point of the contest and sparked a game-changing 26-8 run to end the first half.

In the first quarter, both teams struggled. Seton Hall shot just 17.6% from the field while Syracuse managed a 33.3% mark. But, that all changed in the second period. Despite the Pirates failing to find their groove, SU shot a whopping 52.9% and ended the game shooting 43% from the floor. Woolley continued to build on a stellar opening 10 minutes, scoring nine points before Fair took over.

The SU point guard re-entered the contest shortly after coming off the floor, but looked shaky, her injury clearly bothering her. Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack opted to leave her in and near the beginning of the second quarter, Fair hit an uncontested mid-range jumper, off of a cross-court Rice feed, before gingerly heading back on defense. However, with 2:20 remaining in the first half, Fair caught fire, hitting three 3-pointers to propel the Orange to a 35-15 advantage.

Collecting the ball near her feet several steps behind the arc, Fair picked the ball up and shot it over Seton Hall’s Lauren Park-Lane in one fluid motion. Her attempt swished through as she trotted back near the Syracuse bench, clapping her hands emphatically.

Syracuse overcame a low-scoring opening quarter to build a dominant lead in the second, but the Pirates answered to start the third. Victoria Keenan hit a 3-pointer from the right corner off of a Park-Lane assist before the Seton Hall point guard made two straight layups.

Starting at the top of the key, Park-Lane hesitated, freezing Fair on a blow-by. Heading into the paint she absorbed Lewis’ contact before finishing with her right hand. Drawing the foul in mid-air, Park-Lane made the basket and hit the ensuing layup. She would end as the only Pirate in double-figures, producing 23 points and six assists.

Then, in the midst of a 9-0 Pirate run, Park-Lane eclipsed the program’s single-season scoring record with her — a feat she set last season (678) — before a Lewis three-point play stopped it.

Although Seton Hall cut the once-double-digit deficit to nine points, the Orange eventually started to pull away, getting easy looks around the basket. Near the end of the third quarter, Seton Hall set up a full-court press in response, but Syracuse wasn’t phased. Working the ball between its backcourt before finding a gap near halfcourt to exploit, SU passed around the perimeter before it would find Lewis or Kyra Wood for a layup.

With the shot clock winding down, Hyman handed the ball off to Woolley who circled the perimeter before driving. She forced up a shot that ricocheted off the backboard but Wood was first to the rebound. Tipping possession to herself, Wood went up strong against a trio of Seton Hall defenders to score a right-handed layup. Her make increased SU’s lead to 51-37 with 1:08 left in the third quarter.

Hyman stole the ball and looked up to see Fair streaking down the court. She threw an outlet pass forward which Fair caught in stride before strategically maneuvering past Park-Lane for a layup. The steal was Hyman’s fifth of the game in a do-it-all performance for the SU guard. She also tallied 10 points and five rebounds.

On the next offensive trip, Lewis missed a short jumper but Hyman flew in to crash the boards. Corralling the rebound, she dished back out to the right wing where Fair was positioned. With no defender around, Fair hit her fourth triple of the night before Seton Hall called timeout, attempting to disrupt a 7-0 Orange run to start the final quarter.

Syracuse’s 14th steal of the contest was Fair’s first. Jumping the passing lanes as the Pirates attempted to reset, Fair poked out the ball loose and sprinted the length of the court to make an open transition layup. In response, both sides emptied their benches with just over a minute to play.

Published on March 20, 2023 at 9:15 pm

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff