Dominique Darius and Laila Phelia shine in dominant win over Georgia Tech

After a tough overtime loss to North Carolina, Syracuse women’s basketball hoped to bounce back in a big way. It did just that tonight with a 94-70 win over Georgia Tech at the JMA Wireless Dome. SU shined in this contest from its stifling defense and complimentary offense. 

Sometimes a quick start is all it takes to gain momentum. Orange guard Laila Phelia opened up the scoring with a three pointer just seven seconds into the game. Center Uche Izoje and guard Dominique Darius combined for the next six points in quick succession. The Orange opened up a narrow but sufficient 9-0 lead in the first two minutes of play.

SU came out of a timeout and scored seven more to its lead, pulling away from the Yellow Jackets. Postgame, Darius reflected on her and her squad’s mentality heading into tonight’s contest.

“We try to go five minutes at a time,” Darius said. “Starting the game strong is really important when we play even better teams. We’ve been really trying to emphasize that in practice.”

Syracuse’s second quarter defense complimented its dominant offensive start. The Orange forced 12 Yellow Jacket turnovers, scoring 14-points off these takeaways. Head coach Felisha-Legette Jack feels that her team’s drive and humbleness is what carries their gameplay.

Photo by Adeline Taylor

The Syracuse Women’s Basketball team celebrates a three point shot in their 94-70 win over Georgia Tech on January 29th, 2026.

“That’s who we are,” Coach Jack said. “We don’t save ourselves because I don’t want to fall out. We impose ourselves because that’s our story, and that’s the truth that we want people to understand.” 

In the second half, Syracuse continued its hot streak on both ends of the floor solidifying a significant point gap over Georgia Tech. Dominique Darius put 14-points on the board in the final 20 minutes of the game. 

Darius wasn’t alone on the road to this much needed victory. Senior Laila Phelia joined her standout performance with a game high 23-points. The guard says that after the North Carolina loss, her intensity had to change.

“I had bruises and stuff and was banged up from practice because we were practicing so hard and diving on the floor and just really just wanting it more,” Phelia said.

Darius agreed with Phelia, and feels tonight is a good representation of how the team is becoming a complete and cohesive unit.

“I think everybody wants to get better,” Darius said. “As a team, we just are finding a rhythm of who’s going to shoot shots and what shots are great.” 

Photo by Adeline Taylor

Syracuse Women’s Basketball star Uche Izoje makes a shot in the Orange’s 94-70 win over Georgia Tech.

Syracuse now improves to 17-4 on the season. The Orange have scored at least 90-points per game for the fourth time this season and won by its largest margin in ACC play since 2023. 

SU finds its next foe in Miami on Sunday. Coach Jack hopes that the hard work her team is putting in, continues to show as the back end of play approaches. 

“This is late January, and they’re asking for more because they know we do the work privately,” Legette-Jack said. “We’re not giving anything away, but we think that if you come closer and really get to know these young ladies, you’re going to really feel like they’re pretty special.”