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Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she was embarrassed with her team’s effort on the glass against Duke. SU entered Thursday’s contest against the Blue Devils averaging 42.2 rebounds per game — the 16th most in Division I, according to HerHoopStats — yet the Orange were dominated.

Duke’s 37.5 rebounds per game ranked 116th in D-1, but against the Orange, it looked like the best team in the country. Legette-Jack’s team lacked assertiveness on the boards. She said her team expected the ball to fall into their laps, not showing any fight to out-rebound the Blue Devils.

“I’m embarrassed… I don’t mind if they got the rebound but we went down fighting and fouled out because we went after a rebound,” Legette-Jack said postgame. “But we didn’t do that.”

Throughout Duke’s (17-9, 9-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) 58-45 thrashing of No. 17 Syracuse (22-5, 12-4 ACC), the Blue Devils out-rebounded the Orange 52-25. It was SU’s worst rebounding effort of the season, while Duke’s 52 boards were its third-most in a game. Off of their 17 offensive rebounds, the Blue Devils scored 18 second-chance points.

Despite its rebounding success from start to finish, Duke couldn’t capitalize on its rebounding advantage early. SU was held to just two offensive rebounds in the first quarter and with consistent one-and-done possessions shooting 4-for-16 from the field, the Orange were held to 11 points.

Following back-to-back misses from SU’s Dyaisha Fair and Alaina Rice just over a minute into the game, the Blue Devils took an early 4-0 lead. Duke guard Jadyn Donovan grabbed her first of a career-high 15 rebounds and got out in transition, leading to the team’s second field goal on an easy layup from Reigan Richardson.

From there, Duke’s offense slowed down, going scoreless for nearly the next three minutes. It still commanded a 6-2 lead, but the Orange knotted the game 8-8 after Fair scored four of her 22 points and Rice added a transition layup with three minutes left in the quarter.

Syracuse took its only lead when Georgia Woolley knocked down a 3 from the top of the key, but Duke instantly responded with a 4-0 run to end the first quarter up 14-11. Throughout the opening frame, the Blue Devils out-rebounded SU 15-5, yet only led by one possession.

Throughout the second quarter, Duke capitalized on its rebounding prowess. Despite missing three straight opportunities after corralling two offensive rebounds on their first possession of the quarter, the Blue Devils snagged SU forward Kyra Wood’s miss leading to a layup for Kennedy Brown, who scored a team-high 12 points.

Following Wood’s miss, SU couldn’t convert on its next three offensive possessions. The Orange are one of the best offensive teams in the country, as their 40.3% offensive rebound rate ranks eighth in D-I. With Syracuse’s shots not falling — it shot a season-low 25.0% from the field — it needed a boost on second-chance opportunities. But the Orange were stifled and outmatched throughout the game.

“When you get beat 52-25 on the boards, the fight wasn’t what it needed to be,” Legette-Jack said. “I take full responsibility for that and we will be better.”

Three minutes into the second quarter, Duke forced Fair into one of her 18 misses from the field and Brown kept its possession alive, pulling in her second offensive rebound following a miss from Taina Mair. Brown was quickly fouled, but after the Blue Devils inbounded the ball, Mair was left wide open in the left corner and nailed a 3 to give Duke a 21-11 lead.

The teams proceeded to trade baskets over the next two minutes, with SU trailing 24-15, but the Blue Devils got their lead back to double digits after Camilla Emsbo pulled down a 3-point miss from Mair and Richardson nailed a mid-range shot to give them a 26-15 lead.

This kickstarted an 11-2 Duke run to close the half, giving it a 35-17 lead at halftime. The Orange’s 17 points were their fewest in any half this season while the Blue Devils held a 33-11 rebound advantage.

Syracuse cut Duke’s lead down to 37-26 three minutes into the third, but Donovan corralled her 12th rebound on a 3-point miss from Fair which led to a Mair layup on the other end. Both offenses proceeded to struggle throughout the rest of the quarter, but a defensive rebound by Duke’s Oluchi Okananwa led to an easy score for Delaney Thomas which helped the Blue Devils take a 47-31 lead into the fourth quarter.

With how sluggish Syracuse’s offense was and its inability to compete on the glass, Duke handily took care of business, as it prevented the Orange from making fourth-quarter comebacks like it did against Clemson, Florida State and Louisville.

“All it is is toughness. Credit to (Kara) Lawson and (Duke) they out-toughed us today. But we will never be out-toughed twice in a row,” Legette-Jack said.

Published on February 23, 2024 at 4:16 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon