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In Syracuse’s comfortable 87-60 win at Binghamton Wednesday, the Orange finally found their footing from 3. SU knocked down eight triples — tied for a season-high and the most since its victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 17 — to snap a two-game skid.

Three of those treys came from freshman Madeline Potts, who scored a career-high nine points off the bench. Overall, the Orange sank 50% of their field goals and 58.8% of their shots in the third quarter, where Syracuse outscored the Bearcats 26-10, stretching its lead to 27.

SU has one final nonconference matchup before continuing Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Orange host Dartmouth Saturday and then have a week-and-a-half break before their second ACC contest of the season against No. 17 Georgia Tech on Jan. 2.

Here’s everything you need to know about Dartmouth (5-6, 0-0 Ivy League) before its game with Syracuse (5-6, 0-1 ACC):

All-time series

Syracuse leads 5-0.

Last time they played …

In SU’s 2013-14 home opener, it downed Dartmouth 88-47. The Orange were led by Brittney Sykes’ 26 points, six rebounds and three steals, one of four players to score in double-digits in their blowout of the Big Green.

Forward Taylor Ford scored 13 points in just 14 minutes, while center Shakeya Leary notched a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Syracuse shot 44.3% from the field while holding Dartmouth to 28.3%. SU also tallied 22 fast-break points in comparison to the Big Green’s zero.

The Big Green report

Dartmouth has slowly been building under second-year coach Linda Cimino. After finishing 2-26 in 2022-23, the year before Cimino arrived, the Ivy League school more than tripled its win total at 7-19 last season but still only won one conference game. Before beginning conference play in the new year, the Big Green already have five wins and are on a two-game winning streak with recent victories over Central Connecticut and Lafayette.

Senior guard Victoria Page carries a heavy load for the Big Green, averaging 15.5 points per game, while no other player averages more than 8.4. Dartmouth also doesn’t rely on getting to the free throw line to score, with only 13.3% of its points coming from the charity stripe. The Big Green shoot 58.7% from the line, ranking 9th-worst in the country, according to HerHoopStats. However, the Big Green don’t foul their opponents often, committing just 124, slotting them into the top 15 in Division I.

The one opponent Syracuse and Dartmouth have both played this season is UAlbany. The Big Green fell to the Great Danes 58-53 in their second game of the season on Nov. 13. A week later, on Nov. 20, SU was upset 73-70 by UAlbany when the Great Danes’ Lilly Phillips sank a 3-pointer to take the lead with three seconds left. Following the loss, SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack called out the lack of fan support in the JMA Wireless Dome.

How Syracuse beats Dartmouth

Admittedly, it shouldn’t be much of an issue for SU to beat the Big Green. However, to avoid an upset loss like against UAlbany, it would help to carry over its strong 3-point shooting. The Orange struggled from 3 in its recent losses, shooting a lowly 17.6% at Texas A&M and 21.4% versus then-No. 10 Notre Dame.

If Syracuse can get 3s to drop, Dartmouth likely won’t be able to keep up. In all of SU’s wins this season, it has scored more than 77 points. But in its six losses, it’s averaged just 63. Dartmouth ranks 328 out of 362 teams in average points per game at 53.5, per HerHoopStats, while holding opponents to 58.3 points per contest, within the top 60 nationally. SU needs to showcase its offensive potential while holding off Dartmouth.

That offensive spark could come from various players, as 10 scored a point against Binghamton Wednesday. If someone gets going — like Potts did Wednesday with her 3 triples, or like Izabel Varejão and Journey Thompson did with 10-plus points — then SU won’t have much trouble finishing nonconference play on a high.

Stat to know: 12.4

Dartmouth plays very clean basketball, committing just 12.4 fouls per game, ranking second in the country. Consequently, opponents only take an average of 9.5 trips to the line. That shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for SU, which isn’t reliant on getting points from free throws, only scoring 14.7% of its points from the line, below the national average.

Player to watch: Victoria Page, guard, No. 15

Page is the Big Green’s main offensive weapon. In her fourth year in the Granite State, the 5-foot-8 guard has upped her production from 8.1 points last season to 15.5 this campaign.

Page plays an average of 37.2 minutes per game — 10th most by a player nationally. This has made her a more comfortable shooter, increasing her field goal percentage from 27.1% her freshman year to 40.0% this season. Her 3-point shooting also jumped from 16.1% to 30.5% over the same span.

Published on December 20, 2024 at 1:46 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal