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Through two games Syracuse blew out its opponents, defeating Lafayette by 34 and Central Connecticut by nearly 50. On Wednesday, the Orange had their closest game of the season, so far, but it still won comfortably to advance to 3-0 for the second consecutive season.

Throughout the first quarter, which was played with Dyaisha Fair sitting on the bench, the Orange jumped out to a 15-2 lead but Coppin State went on a 7-0 run to cut their lead to 17-10 at the end of the quarter.

After her first-quarter absence, Fair played the entirety of the second quarter, and Syracuse outscored Coppin State 22-8 in the period, taking a 39-18 lead into halftime. SU continued its dominance in the second half, easily defeating the Eagles 80-47.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) blowout win over Coppin State (1-3, 0-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference):

Unchartered territory

For the first time since Jan. 29, 2020, when she was a freshman at the University at Buffalo, Fair came off the bench. Against Central Connecticut on Friday, Fair scored 28 points in just 29 minutes.

Kyra Wood was SU’s first sub with 5:10 in the first, and Fair didn’t see the court until the start of the second quarter. In Fair’s 10 minutes on the bench, Syracuse jumped out to a 17-10 lead with Izabel Varejão and Sophie Burrows combining for 13 points.

Fair was passive offensively to start, scoring her first points with under a minute remaining in the half and only collecting one assist in her first 10 minutes of action. Despite only scoring three points in the first half, Fair heated up in the second half, finishing with a team-high 16 points.

With Fair getting off to a slower start, though, the Orange started facilitating their offense through their post players. After easily scoring on a post-up move with 2:46 remaining in the second quarter, the Orange immediately got the ball back into Varejão’s hands.

This time, though, Varejão quickly fed the ball to Lexi McNabb who was cutting under the basket. As Coppin State’s defense collapsed onto her, McNabb found Alaina Rice wide open in the left corner, and she nailed a 3-pointer giving Syracuse a 36-18 lead. In a balanced offensive attack, Fair, Rice (15) and Varejão (13) all scored in double figures.

Quick pace

Defensively, Syracuse played man-to-man defense, but its defenders pressed hard on the Coppin State ball handlers. Before Burrows connected on her second 3-pointer of the first quarter giving the Orange an 8-2 lead, the Orange forced Laila Lawrence into a turnover and quickly capitalized on her mistake.

The Orange dominated in transition throughout the first half, scoring 10 fastbreak points, and they continued their success in the second half. Despite allowing Coppin State to start the second half on a 5-0 run, Syracuse quickly responded.

After Rice battled on the offensive glass and converted on a second-chance layup, Burrows picked Faith Blackstone’s pocket, passing the ball ahead to Fair. Despite having a defender in her face, Fair stepped back on the left wing and swooshed home a 3-pointer, giving Syracuse its 13th of eventual 18 fastbreak points.

3-point barrage

Despite dominating offensively to start the season, Syracuse has struggled from 3-point range. Heading into its game against the Eagles, SU shot 32.5% from behind the arc, ranking 128th in the country.

However, the Orange came out firing on Wednesday. In the first half, they attempted 15 shots from long range — the same number they attempted throughout the entirety of Friday’s game against CCSU — and made six. Burrows and Kennedi Perkins led the way with hitting a couple.

In the second half, Syracuse continued its barrage. Despite Varejão missing SU’s first 3-pointer of the half, Fair and Rice each connected on triples before Fair connected on two more triples to close the quarter.

Syracuse’s 10 makes from beyond the arch and 28 3-pointer attempts were both season-highs.

Size advantage

Syracuse’s height advantage — particularly from Varejão was on full display. In the third quarter, after Alyssa Latham missed a 3-pointer from the left corner, Varejão rose above all Coppin State players in the paint and hauled in an offensive rebound.

Varejão kept the ball high, above all defenders, but her attempt clanged off of the rim. Varejão corralled the offensive rebound and proceeded to miss her next two attempts. After a third rebound, Varajeo rattled home her 13th point of the night. Throughout the game, Syracuse’s paint presence was apparent, as it scored 40 points in the paint compared to Coppin State’s 18.

While Varejão dominated in the paint offensively, it was Syracuse’s other bigs who did most of the battling on the glass. Wood (8), Latham (7) and Rice (7) combined for 22 rebounds — helping the Orange win the battle on the glass 42-36.

Published on November 15, 2023 at 9:12 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon