Syracuse Upsets Clemson to End Losing Streak

Coach Shawn Poppie watches on from the sideline. Photo By: Charles Mays - Tiger View Media

The Syracuse Orange were able to pull off an upset at Littlejohn Coliseum against a Clemson team coming off a 16-point comeback win on Thursday night. The Orange move to 8-12 overall on the season and 2-7 within the ACC while the Tigers drop to 11-10 overall and 4-6 in ACC play. This is a deflating loss for the Clemson Tigers as Syracuse has struggled mightily over the past few weeks, losing 3 straight and 4 of their last 5 games before today’s matinee. The Orange will be hoping that this upset win was what they needed to get their season on the right track, while Shawn Poppie’s team will be hoping this is just a blip on the radar. The Tigers started this game off the right way with a three-pointer from Addie Porter and a floater from Loyal McQueen to give themselves an early 5-2 lead. Both teams struggled to get anything going on the offensive end of the floor in the early stages of the first frame. Loyal McQueen ended that rut for both teams with an elbow jumper to give the Tigers a 7-4 lead and give herself 4 early points. Syracuse was then able to take a 9-7 lead with 4:02 to go in the first frame after a wide-open three-pointer from Orange star, Georgia Woolley. Out of the first media timeout, Hannah Kohn was able to drill a corner three-pointer while getting fouled to complete a 4-point play and give the Tigers an 11-9 lead. Both teams started to find their touch from behind the arc as Hannah Kohn and Madeline Potts traded threes to keep the Tigers up by 2, 14-12. The Tigers added to their lead with 2 free throws from Tessa Miller to give them a 16-12 lead at the first intermission. At the end of the first quarter, the Tigers shot just 5/16 from the field but were 3/7 from behind the arc thanks to Hannah Kohn’s impressive quarter. To start the second quarter, neither team could get going offensively until Georgia Woolley and Kyra Wood both sank a layup to even up the game at 16. Fouls by Anya Poole and Loyal McQueen would give the Orange 3 free points to give them a 19-16 lead. Through the first 5:30 minutes of the second quarter, the Tigers were still scoreless and had no life on the offensive side of the ball. There were far too many possessions for Clemson that had little to no movement which ended in shots without open looks. The Orange were on a 13-0 run for the first 7:36 minutes of the second quarter until Addie Porter finally hit a three to end the quarter-long rut for the Tigers. But, the Orange were able to answer right back with a three of their own from Dominique Camp. Loyal McQueen then scored 4 quick points to get the Tigers right back in the game and surpass her tally from the Miami game with 8 first-half points. The Tigers ended the half with a Maddi Cluse three-pointer to make it a 28-26 game going into the third quarter. Clemson went on a 7-0 run over the last 1:41 to get back in the game before the half ended. If the Tigers want to win this game they have to find a way to put the ball in the net. They are shooting just 28.1% from the field and 27.8% from behind the arc; the Tigers are lucky that the Orange have also struggled shooting or this deficit could be much worse for Shawn Poppie’s crew. Clemson started the half off the wrong way; a missed three from Addie Porter would lead to an easy layup for Georgia Woolley and a three-pointer from Izabel Varejao as the Tigers still couldn’t buy a shot early in the third quarter. Clemson would finally get on the board in the second half from two Mia Moore free throws which cut the Syracuse lead to just 5. Hannah Kohn was able to get her three-point shot going again as she buried a deep ball to cut the Orange lead down to 2. But, Izabel Varejao continued to dominate as she had scored 7 of Syracuse’s 9 second-half points 4:30 minutes into the third quarter. Right before the first media timeout of the second half, Tessa Miller was able to complete an and-one to cut the Syracuse lead down to 4 with 4:53 to go in the third. Out of the timeout, Mia Moore was able to drill a wide-open three and make it a 40-39 ballgame, giving herself 5 points on the day. With 2:43 to go in the third quarter, Tessa Miller was able to give the Tigers their first lead since 16-14 in the second quarter. Hannah Kohn then drilled her fourth three of the day to give the Tigers a 5-point lead and force Syracuse coach Felisha Legette-Jack to call timeout. The Tigers went on a 9-0 run over the span of 2:12 to put themselves up 45-40 heading into the timeout. Out of the timeout, Tessa Miller was able to sink a layup while Kyra Wood hit two free throws to give Clemson a 47-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, the Tigers shot the ball a little bit better shooting 36.8% from the field and 50% from downtown. Syracuse started off the fourth quarter exactly how they needed to. Kyra Wood scored a quick layup for the Orange and Izabel Varejao sank two free throws to cut the Clemson lead to just one with 8:15 remaining in the ballgame. Syracuse was then able to take the lead against Clemson after a Madeline Potts three-pointer put the Orange up by one. The Tigers' relaxed defense and struggle to finish put them in a difficult position with just 6:30 minutes to play. Kyra Wood and Madeline Potts combined for a tough fadeaway jumper and two free throws, giving Syracuse a 4-point lead with just 5 minutes to play. The Orange went on an 8-0 run over a 2:55 minute span to put a fork in the Tigers. Kyra Wood dominated in the final moments of the game leaving her with 16 points and 11 rebounds on the day. Izabel Varejao’s layup was the dagger in Clemson’s heart as she gave Syracuse an 8-point lead with 1:19 to go in the final frame. The Tigers were unable to muster up much on the offensive end in the last few minutes of the game which led to the Orange being able to hang onto their upset win at Littlejohn Coliseum by a score of 67-55.