To support student journalism and the content you love, become a member of The Daily Orange today.
Midway through the second quarter, Dyaisha Fair traded to Teisha Hyman. As Hyman dribbled back to the wing, she kicked back to an open fair in the corner that deflated corner 3. The bucket gave Syracuse a 42-41 lead – SU’s first lead of the night.
The 3-pointer came in the middle of a 21-8 run in the second quarter to end the first half that gave the Orange the lead after falling behind for the first 15 minutes of the game. Syracuse (7-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) defeated Coppin State (2-8, 0-0 Middle East) 93-75 to go unbeaten at home. The Eagles were never really out of the picture, trailing 70-64 by the end of the third quarter. Dyaisha Fair also posted a season-high with 27 points and left the field with 10 of 24.
Coppin State quickly went 6-0 up after two 3-pointers from Mossi Staples, one from each corner. Fair put Syracuse on the board with a layup in transition. Fair provided the majority of the points for the orange early on and scored the first 12 SU points.
Coming off the bench, Strong used her inner greatness to score multiple points in the paint. In the third quarter, Strong missed her first jumper from close range, but grabbed her own rebound and went straight up for an easy bucket.
In Syracuse’s game against Yale, the Oranges saw minimal production from their bench, scoring just eight points, with Saniaa Wilson’s four points from the bench being the most. But on Thursday, SU’s bench scored 31 points.
After another Staples 3 — she finished the first quarter with 13 points — Coppin State recorded 27 points in the first period alone. The Eagles went on Thursday averaging 54.7 points per game and ranked 299th in the country, according to Her Hoop Stats. SU went back and forth with Coppin State and was down by just four by the end of the first quarter after being behind as much as eight.
Syracuse could never put on a great run in the first half, as Coppin State always responded whenever they scored. After Georgia Woolley dropped a 3-pointer out of the corner, Jalynda Salley countered with a bucket in paint to extend the lead to 35-30. On the next shot on goal, Coppin State’s Jewel Watkins missed her first layup but grabbed her own rebound and converted on the second chance. Over three quarters, both teams shot about 50% from the field.
Eventually, the Orange took the lead, using fast break points and inside to midrange to build a 51-45 halftime lead. In the next SU basket, Saniaa passed a Hyman two-pointer to a cutting McEvans. McEvans was swarmed by a couple of Eagle defenders before finding an open Lewis for the mid-range baseline jumper.
In another game, Fair went coast to coast, benefiting from a turnover from Colleen Buckner. But instead of scoring, she dealt it to Hyman, who scored an easy 2. For Coppin State, Staples and Watkins combined for 29 of CSU’s 45 first-half points, but Watkins picked up her third personal foul late in the second quarter, keeping her off the starting lineup to start the second half.
Coppin State made a few buckets early in the third and reduced the Syracuse deficit, but the Orange countered with a run that included a steal and drive from Woolley and a Hyman 3-pointer to extend SU’s lead to 66. 57
The Eagles entered the matchup with just two players — Watkins and Staples — averaging double-digit points. Tonight, Coppin State had four players in double figures, although Watkins and Staples still held the lead.
Hyman secured the Orange’s first double-digit lead of the night with 20 points. She received the ball at the top of the key, pumping forward and forcing her defenders to jump. With a dribble to the right, Hyman pulled up and dumped the jumper. But the Eagles ended the third quarter on a 6-2 run and entered the final frame when Staples converted as the buzzer sounded.
In the fourth quarter, Syracuse slowly began to break away from Coppin State and got a quick bucket from Woolley, who hit a putback after Strong missed a 3. Fair also added another basket as she finished the evening with 27 points. Fair hasn’t gone into a game in which she hasn’t hit double digits.
Watkins added her second 3 in the fourth quarter to make it an eight-point game, but she picked up her fourth foul shortly after. After Strong scored another bucket inside to end a 10-0 run, the SU lead had increased to 87-71, forcing CSU to call a time-out.
Published December 8, 2022 at 9:35 p.m
Contact Cole: [email protected]
Comments are closed.