SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — In college basketball, the non-conference slate is all about building good habits and finding your identity as a team.
And three games into the season, the identity for Syracuse Women’s Basketball has become clear: dominate the paint and cause chaos defensively. Both were on full display in their third straight win against the Siena Saints 82-58 on Wednesday night at the Dome.
Turning defense into offense has been the calling card for SU and why they have been able to dominate their non-conference slate thus far.
Against Sacred Heart, Syracuse forced 29 turnovers and scored 33 points off those turnovers. Against Cornell, they forced 19 turnovers and scored 21 points off of them.
But against Siena, it felt like SU’s best game yet when it came to causing chaos. The Orange forced 22 turnovers for the Saints and had 35 points off of those turnovers. They were able to capitalize and it led to quick offense and a ton of layups, something this team wants to keep on doing.
However, this is still a team full of newcomers, and as they are starting three transfers. So naturally, there will be kinks to work out and that could be seen against Siena.
“I thought we were supposed to get 45 [points off turnovers],” head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “But I think we will continue to get better at it.”
“We didn’t start the way we were supposed to, but once we started being intentional, that’s when the game changed,” junior guard Emely Rodriguez said.
Uche Izoje led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Saints, but the supporting cast shined for SU. Sarah Rambus, Jaleesa Molina, and Rodriguez all had a great impact on the game. Coach Legette-Jack came into the season elated about the versatility on this roster and that has really been shining through for this team.
“I feel like we did a good job of playing off of each other, especially Emely [Rodriguez],” Rambus said. “It really helps us as a team.”
The constant ball pressure and synergy made it tough for the Saints to generate offense, as they only shot 36 percent from the field for the game and scored just 25 points in the second half.
It led to them falling to 1-3 on the season, and Siena head coach Terry Primm lamented the fact that they lost control of the glass and the turnover battle as well.
“They put a lot of pressure on us,” Primm said. “That’s a tournament team over there and these are the kind of games you want to win, it just didn’t happen for us.”
For SU, the goal is to continue to stack wins and build, so that they are ready for ACC play when it begins later on this winter. Making sure that everyone is familiar with each other is the key, even if there are some mishaps along the way.
“In order to get better, you have to make mistakes. That is how you learn and that is what this stretch will help us with,” Legette-Jack said.