Fourth Quarter Rally Falls Short Against No. 19/20 Syracuse

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami women’s basketball (16-8, 6-7 ACC) went on a 13-4 run to start the fourth quarter before getting within five with just under three minutes to go, but No. 19/20 Syracuse held on late as the Canes dropped a 71-60 decision Thursday, Feb. 15. 

FINAL | Syracuse 71, Miami 60

The first quarter was marked by runs for both sides, with Syracuse taking a 22-16 lead after the first ten minutes. Georgia Wooley had nine for the Orange while Jaida Patrick paced the Canes with five in the first frame. 

Miami trimmed the deficit down to four points after consecutive pull-up jumpers from Shayeann Day-Wilson, but Syracuse pushed back by going 3-for-3 in its last three field goals of the quarter to take an 11-point lead at the break.

Day-Wilson made a much-needed deep three-pointer to get Miami back to an 11-point deficit with 6:05 to go, although Syracuse finished the frame on a 9-3 run. But, UM answered when it needed with a 9-2 run, cutting the deficit to 55-45 with 7:41 to go while forcing a Syracuse timeout. 

Miami’s full-court pressure resulted in a steal and easy bucket for Ja’Leah Williams, bringing Miami within single digits for the first time since the second quarter. Miami would cut it down to seven with just over four to go, the slimmest margin of the second half up to that point. Jaida Patrick swatted a shot, got her rebound and setup Miami for an easy two. 

Full-court pressure helped Miami trim it to five, with Williams scoring in transition after Day-Wilson helped on the steal. Syracuse got some key offensive boards and Dyaisha Fair made a three-pointer to put it out of reach.

“Syracuse hit timely shots, what an incredible performance by Georgia Woolley and they got the offensive rebounds they needed to in the big moments,” head coach Katie Meier said. “I thought we were kind of soft and didn’t rebound well. I thought we could have beat them in the paint and we tied them in the paint [for paint points].”

NOTES

• Both teams tallied 30 points in the paint
• It was just Miami’s second home loss of the season, moving the Canes to 13-2 at home this year
• Day-Wilson reached double-digit scoring for the tenth-straight game
• All eight Canes that logged minutes scored
• Lattimore posted her fourth double-digit scoring game
• It was Miami’s eighth game against a ranked team

UP NEXT
Miami stays home to host rival Florida State Sunday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m.