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Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack made a tweak to her starting lineup for the first time in two and a half months Sunday. The combination of Dyaisha Fair, Georgia Woolley, Alaina Rice, Kyra Wood and Alyssa Latham had started 17 straight games. But the past two games prompted Legette-Jack to make a change.

In SU’s back-to-back losses to Virginia Tech and Louisville, the Orange struggled to get production from their forward line, specifically Latham. Ever since scoring the game-winning basket against Clemson on Jan. 14, Latham has been going through a rough patch. Over the past five games, Latham hasn’t scored in double figures, including back-to-back two point performances in SU’s last two games.

The freshman’s poor performances caused Legette-Jack to insert Saniaa Wilson into the starting lineup — who hadn’t started a game since Feb. 2, 2022.

“I don’t have a clue,” Legette-Jack said postgame when asked about whether Wilson will remain in the starting lineup going forward.

The change to the starting lineup saw mixed success for the Orange, with Wilson getting in early foul trouble, forcing Latham into action early. But neither made a massive impact on the offensive end, combining to score 15 points on just 3-for-12 shooting. Despite the lack of prowess in the frontcourt from Syracuse (18-4, 8-3 ACC), it held on for a 75-63 victory over Boston College (11-13, 3-8 ACC).

Wilson looked to be in a rhythm early on, opening up the scoring with a pivot move inside. But then a few minutes later on back-to-back defensive possessions, Wilson committed a foul. On both occasions, it was Dontavia Waggoner who drew the fouls. On the second time, she finished through contact for an and-one to put Boston College up 9-8 less than four minutes in.

Wilson’s foul trouble forced Legette-Jack to put Latham into the game. After not starting for the first time this season, Latham had the chance to make her mark, but if her recent stretch of games was bad, Sunday’s performance might’ve been the worst.

As was the case over the last month, Latham has looked rushed and gets tunnel vision when she receives the ball. Latham was pressing to make an impact with her mid range jumpers, but couldn’t get anything to fall.

On her first offensive possession, Latham pulled up from the baseline, but her shot rimmed out. The next time down the floor, Latham took another midrange from the middle of the paint, but once again her shot clanked off the iron. Despite eight straight missed shots to start the game, Legette-Jack had praised the freshman after the game.

“She just kept playing,” Legette-Jack said of Latham’s performance.

Legette-Jack explained the freshman smiled almost as if to say “Are you kidding me? I missed another bunny” during her rough stretch. Along with her poor offense, Latham was bullied by Boston College’s Teya Sidberry inside. Sidberry provided the Eagles with instant offense down low, scoring a team-high 23 points on 63% shooting from the field.

Wilson also struggled to deal with Sidberry down low and even with her first start of the season, Wilson finished with just two shot attempts in 13 minutes. In the last six games, Wilson has played at least 20 minutes five times and Sunday she finished with the least amount of shot attempts since Jan. 18 against Florida State. Foul trouble kept her out of most of the game after picking up her fourth with 7:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, getting subbed out for Rice.

Latham, on the other hand, wasn’t in foul trouble. After coming back with two and a half minutes left in the third quarter, she was never subbed out after.

Legette-Jack credited Latham for sticking with it. Despite Wilson giving more “effective minutes down low” according to Legette-Jack, the second-year coach opted to go with the freshman down the stretch. Even with the offensive struggles, Latham pulled in a team-high 10 rebounds, while keeping Sidberry at bay in the fourth quarter.

“She doesn’t care about that stuff that people talk about on social media. She cares about the outcome of the game. And the more you get the outcome to look like that, the more respect that you’re gonna get from that mirror,” Legette-Jack said.

As Syracuse and Boston College made a run down the stretch, Latham finally knocked down her first field goal attempt of the afternoon, converting a pass from Sophie Burrows, putting Syracuse up 56-52.

Later when BC cut SU’s advantage down to three, Latham tried to answer, but her floater was off the mark. Burrows pulled in the offensive board, kicking out to guard Fair who nailed a straight-on 3-pointer. Fair finished with a season-high 38 points while knocking down five triples.

Fair’s play down the stretch won Syracuse the game, but another aspect of the victory was Legette-Jack’s trust in Latham by keeping her in during the fourth quarter. The freshman wasn’t starting for the first time all season. And on top of that, she was having one of her worst games of the year. But what mattered most was the trust instilled in her by her coach to be confident down the stretch and help Syracuse break its two-game losing streak.

“I don’t look at it as coming off the bench or starting, that doesn’t matter, it’s who finishes.” Legette-Jack said.

Published on February 4, 2024 at 5:17 pm

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