Syracuse Drops Third Straight as #17 Duke Tops Orange

The Blue Devils were too much on Sunday.

Even as ice and snow poured down on the Carrier Dome this afternoon, it never affected those inside it, as both the Orange and visiting Duke Blue Devils got hot at several different times this afternoon, leading to an entertaining game of runs. The 17th ranked Blue Devils would prove victorious, however, beating Syracuse 74-65.  The loss drops the Orange to an overall 8-7 record, and a 1-4 conference record. It was Syracuse's third straight loss. 

A strong first quarter effort from the Orange put some early pressure on the Blue Devils, with Syracuse carrying an 18-17 advantage into the second period, which felt bigger than just a point given Duke’s stature as a ranked team. The Orange earned their points during that frame with a gritty, old-school basketball approach, driving down the baseline to find good looks around the cylinder. They also fought hard on the boards and came away with five team steals.

But during the second quarter, the Blue Devils showed their teeth, locking down the paint and forcing Syracuse’s field goal percentage to plummet from 40.0 percent to 28.9 percent. The Blue Devils ended up outsourcing the Orange 23-10 in the period, and head coach Vonn Read noted how Orange needed to “tip their hats,” to Duke after the game for making good shots themselves, helping them to keep their lead from that point forward.

Christianna Carr and Najé Murray led the Orange at that point with seven points each. Duke’s Shayeann Day-Wilson and Onome Akinbode-James led all scorers though, each contributing with eight first half points.

Syracuse threw their best punch in the third quarter though. Teisha Hyman came out on the attack, going for 10 points in the period. In getting there, she hit a triple to open things up and later knocked down two shots from the charity stripe which sliced Duke’s lead to three points.

But after that, the Blue Devils responded well, closing the half with a few threes created by some pristine ball movement that opened up holes in the Syracuse zone. Lexi Gordon also closed the third with a smooth buzzer-beating layup high off the glass.

Duke coasted through the final period’s first few minutes, but the Orange came back one more time to make things interesting down the stretch. After two more clutch free throws from Hyman, Syracuse chopped the Blue Devil lead down to eight points with just over two minutes to play.

However, father time eventually started to nod in Duke’s favor, as the Blue Devils milked the clock and hit their free throws while time ticked down. 

Despite the game log reflecting a third straight loss for the Orange, Read still took some positives from the game, marveling at his team’s effort from top to bottom. Playing 25 minutes off the bench, Alaina Rice exemplified Syracuse's strong effort all across the roster.

“Alaina plays extremely hard, she’s in there fighting,” said Read after the game. “I never question her work effort. She does some good things off the bench every day.”

Syracuse’s schedule only gets tougher from here on out, with their next matchup coming against No. 3 Louisville. The Cardinals have reeled in 13 straight wins since dropping their season opener to Arizona. Last year, the Orange lost both games played against Louisville, so this contest offers them a chance to turn that rivalry, and their season in a different direction.