DULUTH, GA — In a classic “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” kind of game, the No. 7 Syracuse Orange managed to hold off a fierce comeback effort to defeat the No. 10 California Golden Bears. Syracuse won 70-59 over Cal on Thursday night to advance to the ACC Quarterfinals, the program’s first conference tournament win since 2021.
The Orange had total control in the first half, finishing with a 37-16 lead and dominating on both ends of the court. In the second half, however, it was a different story.
Syracuse
navigated foul and turnover trouble along with an unfortunate collision involving Dominique Darius and a Cal offense that finally got going. The Golden Bears outscored the Orange by ten in the second half and trimmed their lead down to as low as four points. But, timely shots in the fourth quarter primarily by Uche Izoje allowed the team to pick up its first ACC Tournament win in coach Felisha-Legette-Jack’s tenure and sixth Quadrant 2 victory of the year.
Izoje finished with a game-high 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Laila Phelia (17 points on 6/10 shooting) and Sophie Burrows (13 points) also ended in double-figures.
The Golden Bears were led by Sakima Walker (19 points), Lulu Twidale (14 points) and Gisella Maul (13 points).
Syracuse came out on a strong note to begin the contest. Burrows got on the board first with a three from the wing off a pass from Dominique Darius. She would then collect an offensive rebound and score to give the Orange a quick 5-0 lead. Syracuse would score the first nine points of the game after back-to-back mid-range shots by Izoje.
Cal finally got on the board thanks to a driving layup by Mjracle Sheppard, but six early turnovers allowed the Orange to hold a 13-4 lead by the first media timeout.
The dominating beginning to the game would continue for the Orange during the rest of the period.
The Orange ended up holding California to a season-low seven first-quarter points. The Golden Bears shot just 3/12 from the field with eight turnovers.
On the other end of the court, Journey Thompson would score off a pass from Izoje to put the Orange ahead by 15 and force a Cal timeout. A pair of scores, including one tough drive late in the first, led to Syracuse bringing a 23-7 lead heading into the second quarter.
Syracuse would continue to maintain its double-digit lead. A score inside by Walker would get the game back within 14, but a corner three from Olivia Schmitt off an assist by Phelia followed by another Izoje mid-ranger kept the Orange out in front.
For the rest of the first half, ‘Cuse stayed clicking on both ends of the court.
Phelia connected on a deep triple to give the Orange a 21-point lead (37-16) leading into the locker room, while Cal was once again held to single digits in points (nine) in the second quarter. Syracuse held the Golden Bears to a season-low 16 points in the first half, while Izoje (12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks) and Phelia (11 points on 4/5 shooting) were key reasons why the Orange finished the half shooting 53% from the field.
But, as the third quarter progressed, momentum slowly started to shift in favor of the Golden Bears. After Burrows hit a three late in the shot clock to give the Orange a 42-22 lead, the team went totally cold.
In the first seven minutes of the third quarter, the Orange committed eight fouls and turned it over eight times. Cal also went into a full-court press, leading to a change of pace and ‘Cuse being slightly thrown off.
Also during this period, there was a scary collision between a Cal player and Darius at mid court. Darius would be ruled out for the rest of the game, but did return to the bench later on with a cast-like thing on her non-shooting hand.
With Syracuse out of rhythm, Cal capitalized and trimmed what was once a 21-point Syracuse lead down to 10. The Golden Bears got timely buckets from Walker, while Aliyahna Morris knocked down what was only Cal’s second three all game.
Despite the third-quarter struggles, late baskets in the period from each of Shy Hawkins and Izoje allowed Syracuse to retain a 50-40 lead heading into the fourth.
Cal continued to eat away at the Orange’s lead. Free throws from Maul and Taylor Barnes brought the game as close as 52-47 with 6:16 left in the game. At this point, Syracuse did not have a field goal and FLJ called timeout.
Coming out of the break, Izoje would convert consecutive fadeaway jumpers to put the Orange back up seven (56-49) by the final media timeout.
After Twidale drilled a three for Cal, Izoje kept on cooking. She first tipped a miss by Burrows into the basket plus the foul, then converted on a layup off a lob pass by Phelia. Those late baskets in the end would be enough for the Orange to survive and advance in the conference tournament.
Syracuse returns to the court Friday night to face the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals (25-6, 15-3) in the ACC Quarterfinals. Tip-off is at 5 p.m. EST and the game can be seen on ESPN2.
