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In her first season as head coach, Felisha Legette-Jack led a complete overhaul of Syracuse’s roster. She brought in four transfers from her former job at Buffalo — Dyaisha Fair, Georgia Woolley, Cheyenne McEvans and Saniaa Wilson — while also adding two graduate transfers in Dariauna Lewis and Asia Strong.

The changes paid off, as Legette-Jack set a program-record for wins in a debut coaching season (20), but the Orange still fell short of an NCAA Tournament berth. An 83-58 loss to NC State in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament shut the door on SU’s tournament hopes.

Heading into her second season, Legette-Jack has put together a deeper, more experienced squad. Fair, a First-Team All-ACC selection last season, forwent the WNBA Draft and returned for her graduate year. Legette-Jack brought back her Buffalo core of Woolley, McEvans and Wilson, while adding in three freshmen, including former ESPN top 100 recruit Alyssa Latham.

Led by Fair, Syracuse needs its depth to properly compliment her to get back into the NCAA Tournament. And on Tuesday evening, the Orange showed glimpses of what’s to come in 2023-24, defeating the Golden Knights 77-53.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s exhibition game against The College of Saint Rose:

Fair’s on fire

Matched up primarily with Saint Rose’s Payton Graber, Fair certainly didn’t make things easy for the Golden Knights. The graduate student drilled a step-back 3 over Graber a few minutes into the exhibition. She hit another 3-pointer in transition at the 3:47 mark of the first quarter, and finished the frame 3-for-3 from the field with eight points.

Fair utilized her physicality and quickness to drive into the paint with ease, generating plenty of open space for her teammates when Saint Rose converged on her. Near the 6:00 mark of the first quarter, Fair powered past Graber and met a 6-foot-3 Maddisyn Mahoney at the basket. She kicked it to a wide-open Izabel Varejao along the left baseline for a lay-in, giving the Orange a 14-0 lead.

Early in the third quarter, Fair went on a 4-point run to build a 49-28 lead. She blew past Graber and drove to the basket, drawing a foul in the process. After knocking down both free throws, Fair finished a crafty, left-handed floater on SU’s next possession. The likely 2024 WNBA Draft pick finished the exhibition 7-of-15 from the field, with 20 points and four assists.

Freshmen phenoms

Latham, ESPN’s No. 72 recruit of the 2023 class, earned a starting spot in SU’s first real game action. She got things going right away. Saint Rose’s Catherine Finnerty lobbed an errant pass toward the paint which Latham picked off. She instantly searched downcourt, spotting Fair in transition. Latham connected with the point guard on a long pass, and Fair finished the easy, wide-open layup.

A few minutes later, Latham waited patiently at the top of the key. Graduate transfer Dominique Camp dribbled near the right corner, finding an open Latham. The Illinois native splashed the uncontested 3-point attempt for her first points of the evening. She finished with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting and went a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point range.

Latham also showed off her skill as an all-around player. A lanky, 6-foot-2 forward, Latham willingly stepped out to the perimeter and guarded Graber, Saint Rose’s point guard. Early in the second quarter, she nearly forced the ball away from Graber, tightly contesting her from beyond the arc and eventually forcing her to toss an errant pass that went out of bounds.

Meanwhile, Sophie Burrows, a freshman from Australia, showed her prowess from long range. She took nine 3-point attempts, making six. She consistently positioned herself at the left wing, setting flare screens and moving off the ball to create space.

Four minutes into the second frame, Camp received a pass from Wood after grabbing a rebound. Camp spotted a cherry-picking Burrows, who ran toward the left wing. Camp sent her a long pass downcourt that Burrows instantly took and fired a lengthy 3-pointer from near the “A” in “JMA Dome.” The freshman nailed the 3, putting Syracuse up by 20 at that point.

Burrows finished the contest with 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting in an electric debut.

Defensive dominance

Defense was a large focus in the offseason for the Orange. Fair said that defense was her top priority to improve on that end, and added that the team was starting to communicate better. Against the Golden Knights, SU didn’t allow a bucket until 4:06 into the contest.

The Orange held the Golden Knights to just 11-for-36 shooting in the first half and 3-for-10 from 3-point range. The frontcourt made up of Kyra Wood, Latham and Varejao physically imposed themselves on Saint Rose, wreaking havoc in the paint to force tons of empty possessions. Varejao’s shot-blocking stood out, leading the Orange with four. Her 6-foot-4 frame made it difficult for some of Saint Rose’s smaller guards like Graber or Syrita Faraj to score within the paint.

Syracuse consistently invaded passing lanes to force turnovers. Early in the second, Graber dribbled inside the arc and found Mahoney on the right block. Her pass to the forward was intercepted by a cutting Lexi McNabb, who had eyes on Graber the entire way. SU caused Saint Rose to commit 21 turnovers over the full 40 minutes, and held it to 21-for-65 shooting.

Varejao’s versatility

Varejao is simply the kind of player Legette-Jack didn’t have at her disposal last season. A stretch 5, Varejao displayed the ability to pull from range and utilized her height to make easy shots.

Right after she entered the contest midway into the first quarter, Camp swung it to Latham near the baseline on the left side. As Saint Rose’s forwards diverged in on her, Latham found an uncovered Varejao in the paint for an easy layup.

A few possessions later, Varejao pulled from 3 twice, but missed both. Her willingness to shoot from range while playing as a center could be a valuable weapon going forward for SU.

Later in the first, Varejao had the ball with her back to the basket, guarded by 5-foot-10 Kaileigh Hunt. After pounding the ball a few times, Varejao pivoted toward the rim and shot directly over the much shorter Hunt, swishing an easy turnaround jumper. Later in the second quarter, Fair found her in the paint matched up with 5-foot-8 Ryley Blasetti. She skied over Blasetti on an 8-inch height disparity, converting another easy look.

Varejao closed her Syracuse debut with 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting, and an aforementioned game-high four blocks.

Published on October 31, 2023 at 7:30 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews