Syracuse is a lot better than I thought they were after doing some research. Last season, the Orange finished 24-8 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Their HC, Felisha Legette-Jack, is in her third year in New York. Syracuse lost 3 of their top 4 scorers coming into this season. They started out poorly in ACC Conference play losing their initial 7 out of 8 games. Their conference record is 4-9. The Orange has recently begun to play much better and have won 3 of their last 5. It was 3 of 4 until they had a terrible night at Stanford on Thursday. I watched the entire game. Stanford jumped out to a 14-point lead at the end of the 1st quarter, 27-13. The Cardinal played without their best player, Nunu Agara, for the 3rd consecutive game. Stanford played tough defense and shot a lot of three-pointers. In that opening period, the Cardinal drilled five treys and stole the ball a couple of times and blocked a shot, turning those three into fast break baskets.The rest of the game was even except that their coach picked up a technical foul in the final 1:30 of the final quarter. Stanford made both free throws and hit their 10th trey of the game to win by 21.
I learned that Syracuse is a tall team but lacks foot speed. They are similar to Cal with two bigs, a wing and two guards. It's a good matchup for both teams. Their defense is lacking as the Orange yield 71.75 points per game on the season. In conference, they give up 75. Syracuse does not force many turnovers (16.8) but they are formidable on the boards (approximately 40). Their three best three-point shooters are Aussies that can get red hot. Over the course of the season, however, they have averaged only 5.3.
One week ago Thursday, Syracuse had a road game at Virginia Tech and upset the Hokies, 93-87. It was their best conference game of the season as all five starters scored in double-figures. They shot 60% from the floor and hit 12 treys. (see box score)
Women's Basketball vs Virginia Tech on 02/06/25 - Box Score - Syracuse University Athletics
I'm showing Cal fans this to demonstrate our opponent's potential on the road. Their soph SF, 6-2 Sophie Burrows, hit 8 of 12 threes and finished with 28 points to spearhead the upset! The Aussie did not make any in Palo Alto and only totaled six points. She had averaged 22 points over her prior three outings.
Syracuse University Athletics
I'm predicting that Cal will be able to get their three-point shots off against Syracuse and will triumph, 77-67.
I will quickly review their starting lineup so that you can get a feel for their size and speed. Their star (#5) is Georgia Woolley, a 6-0 senior SG, from Australia. She was 2nd in scoring last season. This year she is the top offensive threat with 15.2 points and 4 rebounds per game. Woolley is second in three-pointers with 32 and has made 87% of her free throws (95). The Aussie is second in assists and steals. The #2 scorer is a 6-3 senior PF, Kyra Wood (#22). She puts up 11.7 points and is tops in rebounds with 7.1 per game. Sophie Burrows (#4) is a 6-2 wing player that tallies 11.3 points and grabs 5.6 boards per contest. She's made 50 treys (38.2%) so far and leads the team in steals w/ 39. The 6-4 senior center from Brazil, Izabel Varejao (#34), is a transfer from Michigan. This is in her second with the Orange. The post averages 7.5 points and garners 5.2 rebounds. She also is their top shot blocker w/26. Finally, a key performer for Syracuse is their 5-8 soph PG, Dominique Camp. She is an excellent ball-handler with 100 assists compared to 42 turnovers. Dominique adds 4.8 points to the offense but is 3rd in steals (30) & 4th in treys (16).
2024-25 Women's Basketball Roster - Syracuse University Athletics
A rising Aussie SG is 6-0 frosh, Madeline Potts, w/ 17 three-pointers made. Another promising frosh is 6-1 SF Keira Scott who contributes 5.3 points in only 13.5 minutes of PT. Saniaa Wilson (#21) is a 6-0 senior SF that helps off the bench with 4.4 points and 3.5 boards in 12.8m per game.
In summary, Cal needs to exploit weaknesses in the defense of Syracuse. They started the Stanford game in a zone, but it failed miserably against the treys. The Cardinal also found the middle of the zone to be soft. Simple ball reversal passes found their post one on one under the basket for easy scores. In the second half, the Orange switched to a man-to-man defense but to no avail. If in either scheme, Syracuse tried to get out on the long-distance shooters, Stanford simply executed back-door plays at least a half dozen times for easy baskets. The Cardinal PG, Chloe Clardy, accumulated a dozen (12) assists for her career high. I noticed other PGs had 10 assists vs 'Cuse. Bottomline: this opponent plays a lot like Cal so whichever team can efficiently play their game has an opportunity for success. GO BEARS!
I learned that Syracuse is a tall team but lacks foot speed. They are similar to Cal with two bigs, a wing and two guards. It's a good matchup for both teams. Their defense is lacking as the Orange yield 71.75 points per game on the season. In conference, they give up 75. Syracuse does not force many turnovers (16.8) but they are formidable on the boards (approximately 40). Their three best three-point shooters are Aussies that can get red hot. Over the course of the season, however, they have averaged only 5.3.
One week ago Thursday, Syracuse had a road game at Virginia Tech and upset the Hokies, 93-87. It was their best conference game of the season as all five starters scored in double-figures. They shot 60% from the floor and hit 12 treys. (see box score)
Women's Basketball vs Virginia Tech on 02/06/25 - Box Score - Syracuse University Athletics
I'm showing Cal fans this to demonstrate our opponent's potential on the road. Their soph SF, 6-2 Sophie Burrows, hit 8 of 12 threes and finished with 28 points to spearhead the upset! The Aussie did not make any in Palo Alto and only totaled six points. She had averaged 22 points over her prior three outings.
Syracuse University Athletics
I'm predicting that Cal will be able to get their three-point shots off against Syracuse and will triumph, 77-67.
I will quickly review their starting lineup so that you can get a feel for their size and speed. Their star (#5) is Georgia Woolley, a 6-0 senior SG, from Australia. She was 2nd in scoring last season. This year she is the top offensive threat with 15.2 points and 4 rebounds per game. Woolley is second in three-pointers with 32 and has made 87% of her free throws (95). The Aussie is second in assists and steals. The #2 scorer is a 6-3 senior PF, Kyra Wood (#22). She puts up 11.7 points and is tops in rebounds with 7.1 per game. Sophie Burrows (#4) is a 6-2 wing player that tallies 11.3 points and grabs 5.6 boards per contest. She's made 50 treys (38.2%) so far and leads the team in steals w/ 39. The 6-4 senior center from Brazil, Izabel Varejao (#34), is a transfer from Michigan. This is in her second with the Orange. The post averages 7.5 points and garners 5.2 rebounds. She also is their top shot blocker w/26. Finally, a key performer for Syracuse is their 5-8 soph PG, Dominique Camp. She is an excellent ball-handler with 100 assists compared to 42 turnovers. Dominique adds 4.8 points to the offense but is 3rd in steals (30) & 4th in treys (16).
2024-25 Women's Basketball Roster - Syracuse University Athletics
A rising Aussie SG is 6-0 frosh, Madeline Potts, w/ 17 three-pointers made. Another promising frosh is 6-1 SF Keira Scott who contributes 5.3 points in only 13.5 minutes of PT. Saniaa Wilson (#21) is a 6-0 senior SF that helps off the bench with 4.4 points and 3.5 boards in 12.8m per game.
In summary, Cal needs to exploit weaknesses in the defense of Syracuse. They started the Stanford game in a zone, but it failed miserably against the treys. The Cardinal also found the middle of the zone to be soft. Simple ball reversal passes found their post one on one under the basket for easy scores. In the second half, the Orange switched to a man-to-man defense but to no avail. If in either scheme, Syracuse tried to get out on the long-distance shooters, Stanford simply executed back-door plays at least a half dozen times for easy baskets. The Cardinal PG, Chloe Clardy, accumulated a dozen (12) assists for her career high. I noticed other PGs had 10 assists vs 'Cuse. Bottomline: this opponent plays a lot like Cal so whichever team can efficiently play their game has an opportunity for success. GO BEARS!
