Syracuse Women’s Basketball Dominates in Opening Week
By Cavan Nicholas
Syracuse Women’s basketball tipped off their 2026-2027 campaign with two out of conference victories over Sacred Heart and Cornell. The Orange will avoid a power conference opponent for the first six games of the season, before facing Wisconsin in a neutral site game.
Last Monday’s win against Sacred Heart finished with a final score of 75-48 behind a big performance from Iowa transfer Emely Rodriguez. Rodriguez finished the game with 13 points shooting 3/6 from behind the arc. This was just her second performance of her career reaching three or more three point field goals.
Rodriguez also thrived on the defensive side of the ball in the opener with four steals. Under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, Syracuse women’s basketball has been known to hang its hats on its defense, finishing last season fourth in the ACC in turnover margin. For the Orange to match that defensive intensity this year, they need Rodriguez to continue playing suffocating defense.
In game two of the season, Syracuse took down Cornell 80-48 on Sunday. Uche Izoje stole the show, providing 22 points on 11/14 shooting. The 6 ’10 center was the lone Syracuse player to make the preseason all ACC team and has lived up to the expectations through the first week. Izoje also finished the game with eight rebounds to lead the team.
Legette-Jack has prioritized building depth, playing 13 players in each of the first two games. Last year’s team had 10 players average double digit minutes per game, and the fifth year head coach looks to continue that philosophy with 12 players with at least 10 minutes on Sunday.
Syracuse plays again this Wednesday as they host Siena. The Saints are coming off of back to back close losses and are aiming to right the ship against the unbeaten Orange. Syracuse will have to keep track of sophomore sharpshooter Francesca Schiro who averages more than 22 points per game so far. The Nov. 11 game tips at 6:00 PM.
