Three Double-Doubles Pace Syracuse Women's Basketball's Season Opening Win

The Orange took down Lafayette to start the season with a victory.

Syracuse women’s basketball season started off with a bang, with the Orange taking down the Lafayette Leopards 75-41.

It truly was the night of the double-double, with three Syracuse players doing so. Alyssa Latham became the first freshman since 2017 to record a double-double in their debut. She finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Dyaisha Fair led all scorers with her double-double, 17 points and 11 rebounds on the night. Alaina Rice achieved a double-double as well, with ten points and 11 rebounds.

“It feels great just being able to do a lot of things,” says Latham. “Whatever my team needs me to do, I’m gonna go do it.”

Syracuse’s offense started out slow, with neither team scoring for the first two minutes. Lafayette worked their way to a 7-3 lead midway through the first. A 12-2 run gave the Orange a lead it would never relinquish. That was followed by a 13-2 run into the second quarter that expanded the lead. It would only continue to grow from there. 

The defense was superb, holding Lafayette to just 29.6% shooting. The Orange rebounded nicely as well, with a 58-27 advantage. Despite forcing more turnovers (18) than field goals allowed (16),  head coach Felisha Legette-Jack says there is still a lot of work to be done on the defensive end. 

“We’re certainly not comfortable right now in the first quarter,” she says. “If we’re playing against an ACC team, that could become a 15 point blowout. We'll work on some film tonight and get visions of what we need to work on.”

Syracuse returns to the JMA Wireless Dome to face Central Connecticut this Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm.

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