Observations from SU’s blowout win over Colgate: Alaina Rice strong in 3rd quarter, improved shooting

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Syracuse opened its season with a 79-56 victory over Stony Brook, where it made just under 40% of its shots. But the Orange improved as the game went along, with Dyaisha Fair and Teisha Hyman combining for 34 points in the win. 

Against Colgate, Syracuse improved its shooting to secure a much more dominant win. Alaina Rice ended the game with a team-high 16 points, while three players had at least 10 points. SU finished the night with almost half of its shots made, while the Raiders only got offense from sharp shooter Jenna Paul.

Here are some observations from the Orange’s (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) 72-48 win over Colgate (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League):

Improved shooting early on

SU allowed Stony Brook to stick around for much of the early stages of the season-opener because of poor shooting. The Orange went 31% from the field and missed all six of its 3-pointers in the first quarter. 

But it wasn’t the case against the Raiders, especially in the first half. The Orange made five of their first eight shots from the floor. Hyman started the scoring by driving from the wing, then pump faking and nailing a fade away. On SU’s next possession, Fair sent a behind the back pass to Rice, who drove to the basket and scored.

While they weren’t initially successful at making jumpers or 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Orange utilized layups. Kyra Wood, Lewis and Asia Strong started to collect rebounds and score near the basket, combining for 18 first-half.

This eventually culminated in a 3-pointer for the Orange, where Fair sent a crosscourt pass to Rice on the right wing. Rice then drove and kicked out to Fair in the left corner, where she made the 3-pointer. In the second quarter, SU moved the ball around and made consistent shots. 

By the end of the first half, the Orange made nearly half of their shots. This established a 16-point advantage that they would build on throughout the second half, which mostly served as garbage time in Syracuse’s second win of the season. The improved shooting also came without Georgia Woolley, who was seen in gray sweats before the game. 

Asia Strong bullying Colgate near the hoop

The Orange dominated Stony Brook by using their height advantage, grabbing 49 rebounds on the night. Three days later, Strong consistently bullied her away around the hoop and finished with eight rebounds. Strong’s height was a benefit as the Orange are still without Olivia Owens, who was out of the game again due to “team rules,” according to an SU Athletics spokesperson and head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. 

Strong also was feisty around the basket on transition plays, too. A 3-pointer from Jenna Paul ended Colgate’s scoring drought after about eight minutes of play, but Strong immediately responded with a jumper to make the score 26-11. 

Fair crossed up multiple defenders on the play, moved inside the foul line and took a fadeaway shot. But Strong picked up the rebound and drew the foul, making both of the free throws to move the lead to 12 points.

Alaina Rice’s strong third quarter

Rice got some action at the start of the game. Fair passed behind the back to Rice on the left wing, where Rice drove for an early layup. Rice was much more of a facilitator early on. She threw a long pass to Wood, who again overpowered her shorter defender for another easy layup. 

But Rice finished the first half with only four points. Rice really emerged at the start of the second half. She opened her second half performance with a 3-pointer after a solid defensive stop from the Orange. Later on, Fair made a couple of moves, but missed the layup. However, Rice got another 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. Rice also drove from the right wing with a left-handed layup to move Syracuse’s lead to 20 points. 

All-around Hyman

In the first half, Hyman attempted many more outside shots, but was unsuccessful. Hyman finished with only three made field goals on the night. But Hyman finished with six rebounds and six assists on the night, taking a step back from being one of the top scorers. 

Near the start of the second quarter, Hyman stole the ball near midcourt and sent an underhand pass to Strong on the give-and-go. Strong sent the ball back to Hyman, who scored in the paint to make the game 24-6. This forced a timeout from Colgate head coach Ganiyat Adeduntan. In the third quarter, Hyman sent another underhanded pass, this time to Rice, who made the layup while falling to the floor. 

Colgate’s sharp shooter

The Raiders started to get desperate as the Orange’s lead grew exponentially. They leaned on starting guard Jenna Paul to spark one of the worst offenses in Division-I from a season ago. 

Paul took 12 shots throughout the game. All of them were from beyond the arc. Paul found open spaces from screens all night and made six 3-pointers in the contest. She nailed a shot from the top of the key to end Colgate’s scoring drought, but Strong responded with a layup to secure the Orange’s hold of the lead.