If you drew up a script for the most unlikely Syracuse basketball run in recent memory, you’d have a hard time topping what Felisha Legette-Jack’s squad is doing right now.
Picked to finish 13th in the ACC preseason poll, the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team is dancing in March, and winning. On Saturday afternoon in Storrs, Connecticut, the No. 9 seed Orange knocked off No. 8 Iowa State 72-63 to advance to the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Now comes the ultimate test: No. 1 overall seed UConn (35-0), Monday night at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
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Four Orange in Double Figures
The Iowa State win was a total team effort, with four Syracuse players reaching double digits:
- Uche Izoje led the way with 23 points, outscoring Iowa State’s star Audi Crooks in the first half and anchoring the paint all game. The ACC Rookie of the Year, a freshman from Asaba, Nigeria who arrived in the United States just months before the season, has been the story of Syracuse basketball this winter. She’s averaging 15.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game, with 13 double-doubles on the season. Geno Auriemma called her one of the best players UConn faced all year.
- Laila Phelia added 18 points with her typical efficiency. The senior guard transferred from Texas (previously Michigan, where she was All-Big Ten First Team) and is playing in her final year of eligibility. A 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup silver medalist with Team USA, Phelia leads the team with 56 steals and is a potential WNBA draft pick.
- Olivia Schmitt delivered the game’s defining stretch. A backup guard who averaged 1.3 points per game during the regular season, 40 total points in 26 games, Schmitt caught fire in the second quarter, burying five three-pointers in a six-minute span to blow the game open. Her career-high 15 points came when Syracuse needed someone to step into the void left by injured starter Dominique Darius. “Coach Jack always says stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” Schmitt said after the game.
- Sophie Burrows was everywhere with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. The junior guard is the only player on this roster who was on Syracuse’s 2024 NCAA Tournament team, the one that lost to UConn by eight at this same arena on a KK Arnold three-pointer with 50 seconds left. She knows what’s waiting Monday.
The Darius Factor
What makes this run even more remarkable is who’s not on the court. Dominique Darius, the team’s assists leader and third-leading scorer at 12.6 points per game, is out for the remainder of the tournament after suffering a left hand injury requiring surgery during the ACC Tournament. Losing your floor general in March would break most teams. This one reinvented its offense and beat a quality Iowa State squad by nine.
Monday Night: David vs. Goliath at Gampel
The second-round matchup is a heavyweight mismatch on paper. UConn is 35-0, the No. 1 overall seed, and has made the Sweet 16 for 31 consecutive seasons. The Huskies lead the all-time series 41-12. Syracuse is a 36.5-point underdog.
But this is the third time in five years these two programs have met in the second round, and the Orange have already proven they belong on this stage. Legette-Jack, a Syracuse legend whose No. 33 jersey hangs in the Dome rafters, the first female in program history to receive that honor, isn’t thinking about the odds.
“We don’t need to be better than anybody for multiple games,” she said. “Just better for 40 minutes.”
How to Watch
The game tips off Monday, March 23 at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN (also streaming on ESPN+). Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut is about a three-hour drive from Syracuse for fans who want to make the trip.
This season was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Instead, it’s become something the Orange faithful will remember for a long time, regardless of what happens Monday night. A team picked last that refused to play like it.
