Virginia Tech beats Syracuse 77–57 as Orange struggle to match energy

Syracuse turned in a flat performance Thursday night in a 77–57 loss to Virginia Tech at the JMA Wireless Dome, dropping to 3–2 in ACC play.

“I was so shocked by our lack of energy,” SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “There’s no excuse. At the end of the day, we made a decision to not be energetically ready to go.”

Virginia Tech built its lead midway through the first half, outscoring Syracuse 22–4 during an 11-minute stretch. The Orange did not score their first basket of the second quarter until the 6:20 mark and managed just eight points in the frame. 

A late 6–0 run at the end of the half narrowed the deficit to 12, but that was as close as Syracuse would get.

Legette-Jack said before the game that she expected a track meet, but only one side seemed to lace up their cleats.

“The track meet meant two teams should be running,” Legette-Jack said. “One team was running. The other one was setting it up and waiting to be trapped.”

Syracuse struggled to handle Virginia Tech’s pressure, repeatedly bringing the ball up the sideline instead of attacking through the middle. That allowed the Hokies to trap and force turnovers. 

The Orange committed six turnovers in the second quarter and finished with 15 for the game.

The loss marked the second time Syracuse has fallen by 20 points in ACC play this season, following a 71–51 loss to Duke on Dec. 28. However, this loss felt different.

“Even through the loss to Michigan and Duke, we saw fight. We saw vigor. We saw love. We saw competing for each other,” Legette-Jack said. “Today was the first day that we saw surrender.”

Freshman center Uche Izoje led Syracuse in scoring for the sixth time this season, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Virginia Tech limited the four-time ACC rookie of the week in the paint.

“She has to be more aware,” Legette-Jack said. “She’s a freshman… I thought it was unfair how they were allowed to guard her. We have to adjust to that.”

Virginia Tech has now won four of its past five meetings with Syracuse. The Hokies were led by redshirt junior Carleigh Wenzel, who scored 18 points and went 4 of 4 from 3-point range.

“I never took a three in my career, but if I was as wide open as #1 (Wenzel) was, I know I’d make it,” Legette-Jack said. “We didn’t communicate defensively and she became a star.”

Virginia Tech shot 6 of 9 from beyond the arc and 45.3% from the field. Syracuse shot 35% overall and finished 3 of 12 from 3-point range.

Senior guard Laila Phelia had 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while junior guard Sophie Burrows added seven points on 3-of-13 shooting and was 1 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Legette-Jack took responsibility for the loss and said she is confident her team will respond.

“Put all the blame on me,” Legette-Jack said. “Everything that went wrong today belongs to me and I’ll get them ready.”

Syracuse travels to Charlottesville, Virginia next to face the Cavaliers on Sunday at 2 p.m.