The Syracuse Orange (19-4, 9-3) continued to handle business on Thursday night, securing its most dominant win in ACC play this season after soundly defeating the Boston College Eagles (4-21, 0-12) 93-59 in Chestnut Hill.
It was an expected result for the Orange considering BC entered this contest with no conference wins and a 16-game losing streak, but the victory does keep Syracuse’s perfect record against Quadrant 4 opponents intact. It also extends the team’s winning streak to three heading into its next game.
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After a close first quarter, Syracuse outscored the Eagles by 16 the rest of the first half and jumped out to as much as a 32-point lead. ‘Cuse would end the matchup making over a dozen more baskets than BC while comfortably winning the points in the paint and points off turnover battles.
Uche Izoje finished with a game-high 18 points on 9/13 shooting and eight rebounds in just 22 minutes of action. Laila Phelia chipped in 11 points, while Dominique Darius ended with 10 points, 7 rebounds and tied a career-high with 10 assists. Madeline Potts also scored 12 points in 14 minutes during the later portion of the game. Jocelyne Grier (15 points), Lily Carmody (15 points) and Erin Houpt (11 points) would lead the way for BC.
Boston College would get the first points of the contest courtesy of a three from Houpt, but the Orange quickly responded. Izoje would collect a Syracuse miss, turn around and connect on a fadeaway jumper off the glass to put the team on the board. Her basket would ignite a 10-2 run, giving the Orange a five-point lead by the first media timeout.
A couple of buckets off the bench by Keira Scott followed by a score from Sophie Burrows would put the Orange up as much as 11 (19-8) in the first quarter.
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But, Boston College hung around early thanks to success from three. The Eagles only made six of their 16 field goal attempts in the period, but four of them came from behind the line. Syracuse would lead 21-16 heading into the second.
‘Cuse started the quarter with another scoring burst, this time an 8-0 run.
It began with Shy Hawkins collecting an offensive rebound and scoring as a result. After that, Jasmyn Cooper off the bench as well as Phelia connected on back-to-back threes. Syracuse jumped back up to a 13-point lead before Houpt responded with a triple of her own, ending a three-minute drought by BC.
It turns out, that would be the last BC basket the Orange would allow for quite some time.
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Izoje continued to produce around the basket, especially off passes from Darius — who dished the rock to open members of the Orange efficiently and finished with nine assists in the first half alone. Syracuse held BC to 2/13 shooting and outscored the Eagles 21-5 in the second quarter. It would end up bringing a 21-point (42-21) lead into the locker room.
Izoje led all scorers with 12 first-half points, while another five Syracuse players had at least two baskets. Houpt (six points) and Carmody (four points) were the only BC players with more than one first-half score.
Syracuse would pick up right where it left off to start the third quarter.
Phelia had a quick five points after converting a pair of free throws and knocking down her third three-pointer of the night, pushing the Orange’s lead up to 26 (49-23). Carmody continued to be the main source of offense for BC, which began the quarter 5/6 from the field, but couldn’t do much to stop ‘Cuse on the other end.
More of the Orange bench started to check into the game late in the third, and the group held on to the sizable lead as the quarter would down. Madeline Potts would connect on Syracuse’s sixth three-pointer of the game to bring the lead up to 66-39 heading into the final period.‘
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The non-starters would continue to put the ball in the basket, leading to an easy victory for ‘Cuse and its third-straight ACC win.
Up next for the Orange is easily its toughest test all year: the best team in the entire ACC. Syracuse returns to the JMA Wireless Dome on Sunday for a “Super Bowl-like” matchup against the No. 6 Louisville Cardinals, who entered Thursday with a perfect 11-0 conference record and a 14-game winning streak. Tip-off is at 12 p.m. EST.
