Owens, Wood Transfer to Syracuse
Syracuse women’s basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack added some height to her roster on Friday afternoon with the addition of transfers Olivia Owens and Kyra Wood. Owens and Wood, both New York natives, return home to the Empire State and will play immediately for the Orange next season.
“We are so excited to have two New Yorkers come home,” Legette-Jack said. “We are addressing our needs for post players, and we are so, SO, excited to get Olivia and Kyra to come home.”
Owens, a 6-foot-4 forward, spent the last two seasons at Kentucky where she appeared in 53 games with 14 starts for the Wildcats. She averaged 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds during her time at UK and shot 43.5 percent from the field. Owens scored two points in 14 minutes off the bench in Kentucky’s 64-62 SEC Tournament Championship win over No. 1 South Carolina.
“Olivia is an incredible student and an amazing athlete who will bring leadership, post presence and experience to our team,” Legette-Jack said. “Third time IS the charm! I recruited Olivia three times, that is how much I believe in her.”
Owens began her collegiate career at Maryland where she played in 16 games as a freshman before missing her sophomore season for medical reasons. During her freshman campaign at Maryland, she shot 55 percent from the field and scored in nine games. Her biggest performance of the season was in the Big Ten Championship game where she scored four points and added four rebounds while helping the Terrapins to the title.
The Albany, N.Y., native was a five star recruit out of Niskayuna High School. She ranked No. 34 overall in the 2018 class according to ESPN and was the No. 5 post player in her class.
Wood is a 6-foot-3 forward from Buffalo, N.Y. She started eight of the final nine games of the season at Temple and appeared in 25 of the Owls 28 games. She was second on the team in blocked shots (29) while averaging 3.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Wood had a season-high 16 points and eight rebounds in a win over East Carolina and had a season-high 12 rebounds against Wichita State.
“Kyra is also an incredible student and a fantastic post player who will bring length, speed and athleticism to our program,” Legette-Jack said. “This is the second time I have recruited Kyra. Persistence has paid off with these two!”
Wood attended City Honors School in Buffalo, N.Y., where she was an All-Western New York Second Team Selection and the Co-Canisius Cup Player of the Year. She reached the 1,000-point milestone while a sophomore at CHS while averaging an impressive 34.0 points per game. During her junior season she averaged 25.9 points, 12.2 rebounds an added 4.3 blocks per game. As a senior, she crossed the 2,000- point threshold for her career.
“Orange Nation, please help me welcome our future foundation to the Salt City,” Legette-Jack added. “We are building it BRICK BY BRICK! One CAB at a time!”
Owens and Wood join University at Buffalo transfers Georgia Woolley and Soniaa Wilson as Legette-Jack’s first recruits since being named Syracuse’s head coach on March 26, 2022.
All 2022-23 season ticket renewals will be available soon. Current season ticket holders will receive an email and phone call from an account representative as soon as details are available. Fans looking to purchase new season tickets for the upcoming season can now place a $25 per seat deposit.
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