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Over a year ago, Dyaisha Fair etched herself into Syracuse history by knocking down eight 3-pointers in a 90-72 victory over Virginia. At the time, Fair’s eight triples were a program record for the Orange — which she recently broke against Florida State on Jan. 18. Since then, Fair broke the 3,000 point mark and has continued to climb the NCAA All-Time scoring charts — sitting at No. 6 all-time.

Just over a year later, she faced off against the same UVA team. Similar to last season, Fair was coming off a quiet performance. Four days before playing UVA in 2023, Fair’s 4-for-18 performance against Duke. This past Thursday, Fair went 4-for-14 from the field for 11 points versus Miami. Sunday, Fair had the chance to get back to her normal self.

Although it wasn’t a record-setting performance like last season, Fair put together another masterful display, leading Syracuse (21-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) to an 85-79 victory over Virginia (12-12, 4-9 ACC). The Cavaliers tried their best to limit Fair’s offense by double teaming her whenever they got the chance, but it often didn’t work. Fair exploded for 33 points — 11 of which came in the fourth quarter — and five of SU’s season-high 12 triples. Along with Fair, Georgia Woolley chipped in with a season-high 26 points.

“It’s just one of those moments where my team looks for me a lot to close (games) out or help us close it out,” Fair said postgame. “I know that they look to me for leadership and if I’m poised and taking care of business that’s on my end they’ll follow.”

Whether it was her season-high 38 in a road win against BC, 31 in a win over then-No. 15 Florida State or 29 just a week ago in an upset of then-No. 15 Louisville, Fair’s been known to take over games this season. Sunday was no different.

From the opening tip, Fair’s imprints were all over the game. A dribble penetration on Syracuse’s first possession led to a wide open 3-pointer from Alaina Rice — the first of seven first half triples from SU. After getting double-teamed off a ball screen, Fair easily alluded it and hit a baseline jumper. Then, she penetrated the lane before kicking it out to a wide open Woolley, who gave the Orange an 8-0 advantage within the first two minutes.

Fast starts haven’t been a common theme for Syracuse this season, but for the second-straight game, the Orange gained a double-digit lead in the first half.

UVA’s traps at the top of the key led Fair to spread the ball around and not force tough jumpers. With Fair moving it often, Syracuse knocked down eight of its first 11 shots. Woolley’s second triple of the game put SU up 19-9 before she found Izabel Varejão for another score. Everyone but Fair got going in the first quarter as the Orange went 9-for-15 from the field and led 24-10.

The ball pressure from Virginia persisted in the second quarter. The Cavaliers were going to let anyone but Fair beat them. Almost any time she touched the ball there were two players on her, so Fair decided to attack when defenses weren’t set.

First, it was in transition, with her hitting a pull-up from midrange. Then off an out of bounds play, she drilled a deep 3-pointer to put SU up 31-19. Fair registered her third assist of the first half when she found Woolley in the corner for her third triple as SU’s lead ballooned to 15.

Fair continued to cause Virginia headaches in the second half, canning her first attempt from the left wing. But the Cavaliers tried to remain within striking distance. UVA emerged with a 9-0 run in which Kymora Johnson — UVA’s leading scorer — hit her first field goal of the game. Fair proceeded to find Woolley in the corner to silence the crowd.

A few minutes later on what looked to be a lost possession, Varejão found Fair, who drained an NBA-range 3-pointer while getting fouled. Then, London Clarkson got switched to Fair on the perimeter. After a hesitation move, Fair created space as Clarkson stumbled trying to close her out. Fair’s fourth triple was SU’s 11th of the game and put the Orange up 66-51 heading into the fourth quarter.

But the Cavaliers wouldn’t go away, implementing full-court pressure that forced SU to cough the ball up two straight times. Fair responded with another step-back triple to put Syracuse up 75-63 with just under six minutes left.

Syracuse seemingly had the game in its hands, but it started to slip away. A 10-2 run from UVA was capped off by a Rice turnover and bucket from Camryn Taylor. All of a sudden it was 77-73 with 1:32 remaining — the closest the game had been since the opening minutes. But Fair pulled the Orange back when she got the ball on the other end.

Tightly guarded by Paris Clark, Fair let the shot clock run down to 11 seconds before making her move. After a series of hesitations, Fair created space and stopped on a dime for a jumper to put Syracuse up 79-73 with just over a minute remaining. On the other end, Brunelle missed long on a triple and Alyssa Latham pulled down a rebound as UVA started to foul, signaling the end of the comeback attempt.

“We just put our head down and keep it down. We continue to get better every day within the people in our circle and our work will show on the court every time we take the floor,” Fair said.

Published on February 18, 2024 at 4:25 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22