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Sophie Burrows arrived in Syracuse without a bank account and knew virtually nobody. Six months later, while SU played UConn in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, her family watched from the other side of the world.

Though the Orange’s season ended that day, it was unique for women’s college basketball to be televised in Australia, Burrows’s mother, Sarah, said. A few months later, Sarah witnessed something else change during Burrows’ basketball career.

“That was the one big thing when she came home, I was like ‘Wow, look at you. Just so strong,’” Sarah said. “That sort of blew my mind.”

After traveling over 10,000 miles from Victoria, Australia, to Syracuse in summer 2023, Burrows acclimated to an entirely different culture. She grew stronger and became a key bench player at SU, capping her freshman season with a season-high 18 points against the Huskies. But, she knew she could elevate her game.

And less than a year later, she has. Through two-thirds of the 2024-25 season, Burrows has increased her scoring average from 4.6 to 10.6 points per game, ranking third on Syracuse. Additionally, she’s improved her 3-point percentage by about 10 points. During an up-and-down season for the Orange, Burrows has been the only player to start in every contest.

“I just wanted to come back and play my basketball,” Burrows said. “I don’t think I really showed what I was capable of in my freshman year.”

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Shooting was Burrows’s strength coming into college, but she struggled as a freshman, hitting just 26.9% of her 3-pointers. Burrows met with’ SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack for an end-of-season meeting and discussed her freshman season and where she wanted to improve as a sophomore.

“I think those conversations really helped me know what to focus on myself, but then to also give the coaches my view of the season,” Burrows said. “I think we got to know each other a little bit better through those conversations.”

After developing a stronger rapport with Syracuse’s coaching staff, Burrows returned to Australia in May. She rejoined her former team, Diamond Valley, a semi-professional team in Australia’s NBL1. Before joining Syracuse, Burrows played with Diamond Valley for two seasons, and her former head coach, Dee Butler, was still at the helm.

However, after being in the United States for almost a year, Burrows wanted to confirm she could still train with her former squad. This made Butler giggle, because their door is always open to former players who go away to college.

“I was like, ‘mate, of course you can come train,’” Butler said. “She came straight into training, and it was just like she’d never left.”

Burrows practiced with Diamond Valley twice a week and did extra individual sessions. The Eagles, who had a few injuries at the time, were grateful to have someone they knew at practice, Butler said.

Before last May, Burrows had never gone rock climbing. Her friends had recently started climbing and Burrows joined in at a local indoor facility while using the sport to have fun and maintain her fitness.

“It’s a long season, it’s mentally and physically draining,” Burrows said. “So having those few weeks where I could just relax and be with my family and focus on the present was really important for me.”

Boxing was another outlet for Burrows. Like rock climbing, Burrows hadn’t tried it before. She joined Sarah for classes at their local gym and it was another way to maintain her fitness in addition to running.

However, things slowed down for Burrows a few weeks into training with Diamond Valley. She entered the offseason with a small shoulder issue and had been seeing specialists in Australia for it. Burrows decided to lessen the stress on her upper body and paused her training with the Eagles.

With special care to her shoulder, she turned to cardio and trained at her local gym, following a program by SU assistant strength coach Matt Wietlispach.

Before returning to Syracuse in early August, Burrows spent more time with family outside Australia. She backpacked through Europe with her two older sisters, Ruth and Anna, visiting three countries and five cities. Burrows’ SU teammate, Georgia Woolley, did a similar trip earlier in the offseason and offered suggestions on places to visit.

While in Europe, Burrows didn’t let the time pass without training. In the mornings, Burrows joined Anna for runs and bought gym memberships in some European cities.

“It was a good bit of downtime for her to mentally and physically recharge,” Sarah said. “(She could) just relax with the people she’s really comfortable with.”

A few weeks later, when Burrows returned to Syracuse, she shifted her focus back to basketball. Specifically, she wanted to boost her 3-point shooting.

“I was definitely disappointed with my shooting percentage last year,” Burrows said. “I wouldn’t say I changed my form or anything like that. I think more of it was like a mental thing, just being confident in the shots I’ve been taking this year has been a big difference.”

Since the start of Atlantic Coast Conference play, Burrows has tallied four games with at least 15 points. Against Louisville on Jan. 16, she made her first four field goals before scoring a team-high 17 points. In SU’s loss to Virginia on Feb. 2, Burrows dropped a career-high 22 points with four triples and four steals.

While SU’s top two scorers are veteran players, Burrows’s reset in Australia has paved the way for a breakout sophomore year.

“I love her future with us,” Legette-Jack said on Jan. 15. “I think that she can be a really viable option for the next level of play, which is the (WNBA). She has an arsenal that you can’t really coach. It’s that 3-point shot that is high at 6-foot-2.”

Published on February 4, 2025 at 10:47 pm

Contact Timmy at: tswilcox@syr.edu | @TimmyWilcox32