Izoje’s Double Double Lifts Syracuse Past Cal in ACC Tournament

During the afternoon session of Day 2 at the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, the No. 10 seed California Golden Bears women’s basketball faced the No. 7 seed Syracuse Orange women’s basketball. The matchup came less than a month after the two teams played a double overtime thriller, where Syracuse earned a 107–100 victory.

As the No. 7 seed, Syracuse received a first round bye, while Cal advanced after a convincing 75–52 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons women’s basketball.

Syracuse came out aggressive, jumping to a 9–0 lead behind the early play of Sophie Burrow. Cal struggled to find rhythm early, committing three turnovers in the first two minutes of the game.

By the 4:39 mark of the opening quarter, Syracuse had extended its lead to 13–4. The Bears continued to struggle offensively, going through a scoring drought that lasted more than five minutes. Cal also committed eight turnovers in the first quarter, which led to 15 Syracuse points.

The Orange capitalized in the paint, scoring 14 of their 23 first quarter points inside. Uche Izoje was perfect from the field in the opening period, going 4 for 4 and scoring eight points. Cal finished the quarter with just seven points while shooting 25 percent from the field.

In the second quarter, Syracuse experienced a brief scoring drought of 2:25 before Olivia Schmitt knocked down a three pointer. Cal showed some improvement shooting the ball but continued to deal with stretches where scoring was difficult.

By the 3:25 mark of the second quarter, the Bears had yet to connect from beyond the arc, missing their first six three-point attempts. Cal finally knocked down its first three pointer of the game with just under two minutes remaining in the half.

At halftime, Syracuse held a commanding 37–16 lead.

Laila Phelia and Uche Izoje led the way for Syracuse with 11 and 12 points respectively, while Dominique Darius added four assists in the first half.

In the third quarter, an attempted steal by Mjarcle Sheppard on a Syracuse out of bounds play led to a collision with Darius, who left the game following the play.

Cal capitalized on the moment and went on a 7–0 run. Syracuse struggled to take care of the ball, committing four turnovers in a 2:17 span.

Gisella Maul helped lead the push for the Bears as Cal closed the deficit to 11 with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter. Syracuse then went through a scoring drought that lasted more than six minutes and committed nine turnovers in the period.

Behind a strong shooting performance of 58.5 percent from the field, the California Golden Bears women’s basketball cut the deficit to 10 heading into the fourth quarter. Cal also added 10 points off turnovers in the third and outscored the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball 24–13 in the period.

In the fourth quarter, Sheppard returned to the game and provided a spark for her team. Darius returned to the bench for Syracuse but did not reenter the game.

Cal carried its momentum into the final quarter and trimmed the deficit to five with 6:16 remaining. Lulu Twidale knocked down a big three pointer to pull the Bears within four, but Syracuse answered with an and one from Izoje.

Cal continued to battle down the stretch, but a late layup from Laila Phelia helped seal the win for Syracuse.

Sakima Walker led Cal with 19 points and five rebounds. Izoje paced Syracuse with a double double, finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds, though she also recorded a game high eight turnovers.

With the win, the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball advances to face the No. 2 seed Louisville Cardinals in the next round of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament.