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When Syracuse and Boston College last faced on Jan. 19, the Orange reached a new low in a season of disappointments. Without leading scorer Georgia Woolley, SU suffered its worst loss of the Felisha Legette-Jack era, falling 92-51.

But after the teams’ second matchup Sunday, Legette-Jack mentioned she didn’t get on any of her players following the defeat.

“I knew everyone knew that we were down and we had some issues, and I just thought that you don’t beat a person down,” Legette-Jack said Sunday.

And in their second meeting, the strategy worked, as Syracuse (12-17, 6-12 ACC) destroyed Boston College (15-16, 6-12 ACC) 82-57. SU dominated from start to finish, including scoring 50 paint points and forcing 21 turnovers. After clinching their ACC Tournament spot Thursday versus Pittsburgh, Sunday’s win builds momentum heading into the postseason, where the Orange will play BC again in the first round Wednesday.

“I think the last few games have really started to build momentum, and we’re trying to come together as one,” Woolley said postgame. “So having a game like today, and then the last one, we’re just going to continue to build on that for Wednesday.”

Both Legette-Jack and senior forward Kyra Wood said Sunday’s matchup was personal after January’s blowout. A repeat would’ve been devastating, especially on their home court.

And the second edition was almost the exact opposite of the last game. SU trailed 31-9 after one quarter and 48-21 at halftime in that matchup. This time, BC was the team floundering.

“We just came in here with a lock-in mindset,” Wood said. “I feel like it harped on us that we needed to go out here and be dominant and show them whose court it is, whose house it is.”

Similar to Syracuse’s situation in the first contest, the Eagles’ leading scorer T’yana Todd — who averages 14.3 points per game — was out with a lower-body injury Sunday, per the ACC Network broadcast. In her absence, Boston College never found a rhythm. Dontavia Waggoner, BC’s second-leading scorer, scored just five points, all from the free-throw line.

With the Eagles opening 1-of-10 from the field and sporting a 25.8% clip in the first half, Syracuse took advantage immediately. Despite their first three possessions ending in 3-point attempts, the Orange asserted their presence inside. SU exploded to a 9-2 lead after three layups before BC called a timeout.

Though Syracuse slowed down in the last six minutes of the first with missed shots from Sophie Burrows and a Woolley travel, it kept Boston College in check. The Eagles misfired a wide-open transition layup and recorded two offensive fouls.

This allowed SU to take a 19-10 lead into the second quarter via Wood’s paint scoring. After a resurgent 14-point performance versus the Panthers, she converted three layups to boost her to 10 early points.

The Orange continued to get their way in the second by driving to the rim, easily taking advantage of the Eagles’ weak defense, which entered allowing 70.1 points per game. While that unit wasn’t pressured much in the teams’ last contest, it was exposed Sunday.

Saniaa Wilson — a usual bench contributor, entering with 12.7 minutes per game — added six points to push SU to 20 of its 50 points in the paint and propel it to a 28-12 lead.

On the other side, the Eagles continued to misfire shots, finishing with more turnovers (21) than made shots (20) in the game. Legette-Jack credited her defense for the effort. She said she’d neglected it earlier in the season but has focused on that area more recently.

“I call myself a defensive coach, and they made me a liar for the whole season,” Legette-Jack said. “It’s what we’re supposed to do and how we’re supposed to run this team. Hopefully, now that we have the light on, we’ll be better.”

The defensive stand allowed Syracuse to keep piling on. And it came at the hands of Woolley and Wood. The two largely ran SU’s offense in the first half, giving it a comfortable 45-20 halftime lead. Woolley finished with a team-high 19 points and six assists, while Wood added 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

The Orange have blown multiple second-half leads this year, including surrendering a 14-point advantage to Virginia and a 10-point lead to then-No. 20 NC State. But they continued their offensive onslaught in the third. BC didn’t stand a chance.

While the Eagles employed heavy press defense in the second half, SU didn’t break. Despite going on a three-minute scoring drought, Wilson pushed her total to eight points entering the mid-quarter media timeout, putting Syracuse up 54-32.

The late minutes of the third were dominated by Burrows, leading to a 65-38 advantage entering the fourth. The sophomore — who finished with 16 points — added five quick points, capped by a successful trip to the charity stripe and a full-court dime to Dominique Camp for a layup.

With Syracuse’s 27-point advantage to begin the fourth, all it needed to do was run the clock out. SU was outscored 19-17 in the quarter but still came away with an easy victory.

While the Orange hit a season-low last time against BC, it was a different story Sunday. The Eagles were the team getting stomped. And despite an underwhelming campaign thus far, the victory provides much-needed momentum heading into the postseason.

“We just couldn’t put it together earlier,” Legette-Jack said. “It took what it took to get to this point, and now we’re here, and we’re trying to hold on for dear life.”

Published on March 2, 2025 at 6:05 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu | @ Noahnuss99