Alaina Rice’s strong 3rd quarter performance makes her SU’s top scorer against Colgate
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Alaina Rice had just failed on a block attempt trying to stop Colgate’s sharp shooter. Raider Jenna Paul took nothing but 3-pointers all night and quickly got a shot past Rice.
But Paul’s shot hit iron and fell into the hands of Dyaisha Fair. Syracuse’s point guard quickly moved up court. Once Fair got to the wing, she sent a no-look bounce pass to Teisha Hyman. Rice stood unguarded. Colgate sent many of its defenders down low to try and counter the Orange’s size advantage.
Rice moved to the right wing behind the 3-point line and stood wide open for a long pass from Hyman, who was on the other side of the court. With no one in her vicinity, Rice chucked up the shot and made her fourth bucket of the quarter, extending SU’s lead to 23 points.
Rice’s start to the third quarter eventually led her to become the top scorer for Syracuse (2-0) in its 72-48 blowout win over Colgate (1-1). Rice scored 10 points in the third quarter, resulting in her team-high 16 points on the night. This put her one point short of tying her SU-best performance, which took place against Boston College last season. Rice was strong near the hoop with her driving ability and also nailed some shots from beyond the arc.
This came as Fair and Teisha Hyman, who combined for 34 points in the victory over the Seawolves, went just a total 7-of-21 from the floor. It served as a role reversal because of how Rice’s first game of the season ended.
In Syracuse’s opening game of the season against Stony Brook, Alaina Rice asked to be taken out of the game. Rice went 1-of-7 against the Seawolves, finishing with four points, and once she asked Felisha-Legette Jack about it, Rice got a stern response from the SU head coach.
“She asked to come out and I said, ‘Don’t you ever do that again,’” Legette-Jack said. “‘Let me coach, and you play.’”
She had some success in the first quarter. Just over five minutes into the game, Rice threw a long pass to forward Kyra Wood, who overpowered her shorter defender for another easy layup. Less than a minute later, Rice drove toward the basket and kicked out to Fair in the left corner, where the point guard made her only 3-pointer of the night.
But Rice only made a layup and two free throws in the first quarter, and didn’t record any rebounds, assists or shots in the second quarter. She immediately stopped that negative trend right out of halftime. Paul took a shot to start the third quarter, but hit the rim. Rice, standing right at the foul line, leaped for the rebound, but faced immediate pressure from Colgate’s Madison Schiller.
Rice staved off the pressing Schiller and fired a bounce pass to Hyman. Hyman sent a high ball into Dariauna Lewis, who made the contested layup. Rice collected another rebound a minute later, collecting the ball after Raider Morgan McMahon fell on top of her.
She finally got to attempting shots two minutes later. She stood at the top of the key with no defender in sight. Lewis faced pressure from Schiller at the right wing, but she sent a right-handed pass to Rice, who converted on the wide open shot from behind the arc.
Legette-Jack remarked that playing the JMA Wireless Dome can mess with a player’s depth perception because of the size and the amount of lights. But the head coach noticed that some players had already made the change to the environment.
“You got to readjust and so that’s what we shoot around every single time we play,” Legette-Jack said. “They’re getting adjusted a little bit more. Alaina is adjusted, that’s for sure.”
Along with her two 3-pointers in the third quarter, Rice dominated when she drove underneath the basket. Rice never needed to worry about the Raiders’ defense as she used her speed to get behind them.
When Colgate forward Sophia Diehl lost control of the ball while she dribbled at the SU foul line, Hyman collected the ball and went up the court. Rice was now sprinting, already ahead of the Raiders, and drove underneath for an easy two points, extending the Orange’s lead yet again. Less than two minutes later, Rice had the ball at the right wing, shuffling inside the 3-point line.
She positioned her back toward two Colgate defenders in the vicinity, giving her another open layup. This moved her total for the quarter to 10 points.
“I thought it was wide open,” Rice said of Colgate’s defense down below the hoop. “They would show help (defense), but not really commit. So, you got to notice it.”
Even after the third quarter, Rice thrived, building off the offensive momentum she just acquired. Rice made another shot inside, cementing her final point total and moving the Orange closer to their eventual dominant victory despite their top two guards performing poorly.
“This is her time to shine,” Legette-Jack said. “We’re not going to let her hide anymore.”