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GREENSBORO, N.C. — No matter how many combo dribbles Dyaisha Fair performed around the perimeter, she couldn’t shake NC State’s Madison Hayes.

Near the end of the third quarter, Fair went between the legs twice but couldn’t wriggle free. The moment Hayes sagged off, Fair stepped back to launch a 3-pointer that fell short. The few times that Hayes couldn’t stay in front, a double-team would come, forcing Fair to put up an ill-advised attempt or pass back to the perimeter for SU’s offense to reset.

“We know she’s a great player and great scorer, but we just had to help on her,” said NC State guard Jakia Brown-Turner. “Actually when she drove in the lane, we had to clog the lane up and make it hard for her. But Madison was on her most of the game, and she locked her down.”

Fair, an All-ACC First Team honoree, finished with 11 points on 4-17 shooting.

The last time Syracuse played the Wolfpack, NC State squeaked by at the JMA Wireless Dome, winning 56-54 on New Year’s Day. This time, it was a completely different story. From start to finish, behind a home crowd sea of red, NC State (20-10, 9-9 ACC) defeated Syracuse (18-12, 9-9 ACC) 83-58. The Orange shot just 33% from the field compared to NC State’s 61% in their worst loss of the season.

On Syracuse’s opening possession, Kennedi Perkins retreated into the backcourt to receive the inbound. Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack had not only given the freshman her second-ever start in her Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament debut, but she also wanted Perkins as SU’s floor general.

A few possessions in, Perkins caught the ball on the left wing and drove hard, taking NC State’s center, Camille Hobby, with her. In a foot-race to the basket, Perkins beat Hobby and laid the ball up and in for her first points of the game. That led Syracuse to an early 6-0 lead.

But NC State quickly caught up, carrying its momentum through the first quarter to lead 17-12. Converting on second-chance opportunities as a part of a lopsided 9-3 rebounding edge, the Wolfpack started to control play.

“We gave them plenty of second-chance points,” Asia Strong said. “When they got rebounds that’s when they caught fire.”

Fair struggled to get going in the first 10 minutes against NC State this time around, not able to find shooting space. But her tenacity on the defensive end helped Syracuse to a couple of transition lay-in’s.

Matched up against Saniya Rivers, Hayes and the rest of NC State’s big guards, the rest of Syracuse’s backcourt was also stifled, unable to get into the paint with the usual aggressiveness.

Currently on a two-game win streak, No. 9 seeded Syracuse entered the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament listed as the last team of the “last four in,” according to ESPN’s Bracketology. A postseason win would have greatly increased their chances, but that prospect looked less and less likely as the game went on.

“My hope is that the committee sees us as a possible 64, 68,” Legette-Jack said. “If not, maybe the NIT. If not, the mirror is going to tell us we left it out there and we were pretty darned good.”

Georgia Woolley stood stagnant on the left wing. As the shot clock ticked down, she let go a shot from range, over NC State’s Aziaha James, to bring Syracuse within seven, 19-12. Woolley’s make was one of just two three-point makes from the Orange in the first half.

First, Nyah Wilson didn’t get a screen after motioning for one. Then, the same happened to Perkins on the opposite wing. Perkins tried to keep her dribble but the ball was stripped from her mid-shot and a shot clock violation ensued. NC State scored quickly on the other end with Rivers driving hard for the score.

Saniaa Wilson spun and dished to Fair sitting in the right corner. Without hesitation, Fair rose and shot, canning the jumper for her first make from range. She tried another on Syracuse’s next offensive possession, but missed the mark.

After the half, the Orange continued to miss from outside the arc, unable to muster any more than the two which Fair and Woolley combined for. The joint six points was the lowest total from three since Nov. 14 in SU’s win over Binghamton.

Syracuse started the third quarter down 32-26 before Woolley made two quick layups — one of which was a three-point play. A few possessions later, she drove toward the left baseline and laid the ball in again through contact, making it 34-31 NC State.

James sprinted down the floor with Fair on her hip, trying to stay in front. The NC State guard managed to keep ahead and executed a perfect ball-fake to free herself up for an open layup. The Wolfpack took an eight-point lead with 6:43 remaining on the shot.

“I thought in the second half she did a great job for the most part making good decisions and distributing the ball,” NC State head coach Wes Moore said of James’ play.

Although the sophomore guard struggled early on for the Wolfpack, she quickly adjusted to the quick pace. Tasked to fill starting point guard Diamond Johnson’s shoes for a fifth straight game, James recorded 10 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.

For the following two minutes, the Orange kept taking hits, unable to stop NC State from continuously scoring inside. James scored again with her left and Hobby converted a couple of easy looks inside. SU trailed by double digits with three minutes to play in the third quarter.

“They just played more as a team,” Dariauna Lewis said. “They played more together and we played individually and that messed us up.”

After River Baldwin scored on an uncontested layup, Fair sprinted past the timeline with a head of steam. Crossing the ball over several times before penetrating, Fair forced up a shot on the right elbow that clanked off the left side of the rim.

“I just kept shooting the ball,” Fair said while holding back tears.

Syracuse started the fourth quarter in a zone, causing Baldwin to turn the ball over in the Wolfpack’s second offensive possession of the period. Then, Rice tipped away an errant pass from James for the Orange to go the other way.

It took NC State a while to get used to the new defensive front, but once it did, Hobby, Baldwin and Brown-Turner had no problem in finding space near the top of the key. Several iterations of high-low action ensued, which resulted in more baskets for the Wolfpack. Baldwin finished shooting a perfect 7-7 from the field and ended with 14 points. Hobby and Brown-Turner combined for 13 rebounds and both finished with a team-high 16 points.

“One thing you can’t say is there was something left we could have tried,” Legette-Jack said about Syracuse’s defensive schemes. “We tried it all.”

In an act of desperation, Syracuse started to press, full-court, and nearly every time, NC State scored. As the minutes wound down on the Orange’s tournament hopes, James caught the ball in the left corner and drove baseline, circling the basket, avoiding Hyman and Perkins who lunged at her. Turning to face the basket, she lofted up a leaning jumper to give the Wolfpack a 20-point lead, 76-56.

“We left it all out there,” Legette-Jack said. “There was no more juice in the Orange.”

Published on March 2, 2023 at 4:21 pm

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff