Syracuse women’s basketball team’s defensive struggles continue: ‘There’s no excuse’

Syracuse, NY – If there’s one number that makes the Syracuse women’s basketball team and coach Felisha Legette-Jack sick, it’s definitely 84.

In all three of the Oranje’s competition matches this season, the Oranje have awarded 84 points. Two of those matches were losing, including Wednesday night’s 84-73 loss against No. 11 Maryland in the JMA Wireless Dome.

Wednesday night started well enough for the Orange defense, holding Maryland to 14 points in the first quarter. That’s the second-lowest point total in any quarter this season for the 4-0 Terps.

In the second quarter, however, Maryland’s offense exploded with 28 points — tied for the best mark in a quarter this season — including a 13-0 run to put the Terps ahead.

That run put Maryland in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game and was one of the main reasons why Syracuse falls below .500 through its first three games for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

“I thought we had a really tough time defensively in that second quarter. We did several subtitles that might not have been traditional during our short time together, and it took us a little bit,” Legette-Jack said after the game. “You can’t beat the No. 11 team in the country by giving up 84 points.”

“It’s a shame that the second quarter took place. I blame myself because I think I placed the wrong kids at the wrong time.

It’s the second straight game where things started to unravel for SU in the second quarter. In an 84-70 loss to Saint Joseph’s On Sunday, the Dutch team gave up 25 points in the second quarter, after allowing only 14 in the first.

In the Dutch team’s opener against Niagara, SU allowed 31 points in the third quarter. Syracuse ultimately won that game 108-84, achieving its highest point total since Legette-Jack took over as coach in 2022. Will SU be able to score triple figures every game to overcome their defensive issues? Probably not. That is a difficult task even for the best teams in the country.

Despite the loss and continued defensive struggles, Coach Legette-Jack is optimistic about the team’s prospects.

“I mean, we’re one of the top teams in the country as we played today, but we have to be like that against St. Joe’s,” Legette-Jack said. “But we will have to keep making progress and getting better.

“I think we’ll continue what we’ve been doing the last two days. We went after it, we told the truth, we coached hard and we held everyone accountable. We have made it uncomfortable and we will continue to do so. I think our defensive prowess will eventually show its beautiful face.”