Syracuse Women's Basketball's Season Ends in WNIT at Columbia

The Orange fell after a dominant third quarter by the Lions.

Mike McAllister | Mar 24, 2023

Syracuse Women's Basketball's Season Ends in WNIT at Columbia /

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Columbia used a dominant third quarter to top Syracuse in the Super-16 of the WNIT and end the Orange's season. With the 88-82 defeat, Syracuse finished with a 20-13 record in Felisha Legette-Jack's first year at the helm. It was a tremendous turn around from the year before when 11-18 campaign the year before.

Still, the loss will leave a bitter taste in the Orange's mouth as the game was very winnable. Syracuse led by four at halftime, but Columbia came out on fire in the third quarter. The Lions shot 57% from the floor in that frame and put 28 points on the board to turn SU's four point lead into a four point edge for Columbia.

In the fourth, Syracuse tried to battle back but every time they appeared on the verge of tying the game, Columbia would make a big shot. Then in the final 30 seconds, controversy. The Orange was down by four and the ball was passed to Georgia Woolley, who had a tremendous game with 30 points. Woolley tried a floater in the lane but a Columbia defender slid underneath her landing spot while she was in the air. The official closest to the play immediately called a blocking foul, which would have given Woolley two free throws with 25 seconds left and a chance to trim the lead to two. The official furthest away elected to overturn the call to a charge, effectively ending Syracuse's chances of a comeback.

The 30 points for Woolley was a season high, and she did so on 11-21 shooting to go along with four steals. Dyaisha Fair struggled shooting the ball, making just five of 18 shots including 1-8 from beyond the arc. She finished with 16 points, six assists and five rebounds. Dariauna Lewis had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Five Columbia players finished with double figures in scoring, led by Abbey Hsu's 21 points. The Lions shot 49% while Syracuse hit just 41% of its shots.

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Published Mar 24, 2023

MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting. EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans. After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years. Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports. Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College.