Syracuse Women's Basketball Faces Early Season Wake-Up Call After Loss to Saint Joseph's

Orange Look to Bounce Back from First Loss of the Season

The Syracuse Orange women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday night, falling to the Saint Joseph's Hawks 74-67 at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Orange (1-1) were led by graduate student guard Dyaisha Fair, who scored a game-high 22 points. Senior forward Amaya Finklea-Guity added 16 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

Slow Start Dooms Orange

Syracuse got off to a slow start, falling behind 16-4 early in the first quarter. The Orange closed the gap to 19-15 by the end of the quarter, but Saint Joseph's (2-1) extended its lead to 37-28 at halftime.

The Hawks shot 50% from the field in the first half, while Syracuse shot just 33%. The Orange also turned the ball over 10 times in the first half.

Syracuse made a run in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 45-40. However, Saint Joseph's responded with a 10-2 run to take control of the game.

The Orange never got closer than eight points in the fourth quarter.

Syracuse will look to bounce back on Sunday when they host the Colgate Raiders at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Key Stats

• Syracuse shot 39.7% from the field, while Saint Joseph's shot 48.8%.
• The Orange outrebounded the Hawks 44-29.
• Syracuse had 17 turnovers, while Saint Joseph's had 12.

Notable Performances

• Dyaisha Fair: 22 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
• Amaya Finklea-Guity: 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists
• Kiara Lewis (Saint Joseph's): 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
• Katie Jekot (Saint Joseph's): 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Quotes

"We didn't play well enough tonight," said Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "We didn't execute our game plan and we didn't make shots."

"We're going to learn from this and we're going to get better," said Fair.