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Syracuse notched an important 93-87 road win at Virginia Tech Thursday. Sophie Burrows set a new career-high for the second straight game, drilling eight 3-pointers for 28 points.

Point guard Dominique Camp also supplied 10 assists and 12 points for her first double-double of the season. VT’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer Rose Micheaux missed the contest with an injury, according to the Atlantic Coast Conference Network broadcast, and SU scored its second-most points of the season, shooting 60.3% from the field and 57.1% from 3.

SU’s victory is categorized as a Quad 2 win and tied the Orange with two teams for 13th in the ACC standings, though SU currently sits in 15th, the final qualifying spot for the ACC Tournament.

The Orange have another opportunity to boost their record when they welcome Wake Forest to the JMA Wireless Dome Sunday. The Demon Deacons are in last place in the ACC with only one conference win.

Here’s everything to know about Wake Forest (8-14, 1-10 Atlantic Coast) before its meeting with Syracuse (9-13, 3-8 Atlantic Coast) Sunday:

All-time Series

Syracuse leads 9-3.

Last time they played…

On Jan. 11, 2024, Syracuse downed WF 77-56 in Winston-Salem. The Orange connected on 54.1% of their shots — the second-highest mark of the season. The efficient shooting display followed two games where they shot below 38% from the field. Against Wake Forest, guard Dyaisha Fair paced SU with 21 points on 3-for-7 shooting from distance. SU also bossed the post, outscoring the Demon Deacons 36-22 down low and outrebounding them 35-25.

The Demon Deacons Report

Not much has gone Wake Forest’s way this season. After finishing last in the ACC standings last year, the Demon Deacons find themselves in the same position this campaign. Their sole conference win came over Boston College 69-59 on Jan. 26.

Following last season, three of WF’s top five scorers graduated, including Kaia Harrison, who averaged the second-most points per game. However, the Demon Deacons did retain guard Elise Williams, who led the team in points, assists, rebounds and steals in 2023-24.

Still, Wake Forest averages 63.6 points per game this season, the second-fewest points in the ACC. But the Demon Deacons only allow 64.4 points per contest, in the top half of the conference. Another weak point for WF is rebounding. It brings down only 30.8 rebounds per game. The next-lowest team in the conference, Virginia Tech, tallies 35.6 rebounds per game. And WF has the worst rebound margin in the conference at -3.1.

How Syracuse beats Wake Forest

There are two major areas SU has a clear edge over Wake Forest: 3-point shooting and rebounding. If it can show up in both categories, it’ll have a good chance to hold serve in a can’t-lose contest. Syracuse’s success from 3 against the Hokies could be transferable to its contest with the Demon Deacons. WF allows opponents to shoot 33% from 3-point range, 272nd in Division I, according to HerHoopStats.

Another area SU can capitalize on is Wake Forest’s porous rebounding. Syracuse averages the 43rd-most rebounds in the country with 39.7 per game and the 14th-most offensive rebounds at 15.4, per HerHoopStats. Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons are in the bottom 15 in rebounds on average.

While Syracuse allows the most points per game in the ACC, at 72.4 per game, WF scores the second-fewest at 63.6. So, if SU’s offense can knock down 3-pointers and grab rebounds, it can hand the Demon Deacons yet another ACC loss.

Stat to Know: 8.1

Wake Forest’s offensive rebounding is particularly weak, as it brings down only 8.1 offensive boards per game, 342nd out of 362 teams in the nation. Syracuse, however, notches a middle-of-the-pack 24.4 defensive rebounds per game. But, the offensive side is where SU has cleaned the glass at a top-15 mark nationally.

Player to Watch: Elise Williams, guard, No. 21

In her fifth year at WF, Williams has averaged 11.3 points, still leads the team in assists (3.6) and is sixth in the ACC with 2.2 steals per game.

Williams played in only two games as a freshman and averaged 0.5 points per game. The Raleigh, North Carolina, native increased her scoring to 9.5 as a sophomore, then cracked double digits with 10.3 points as a junior and 13.3 as a senior last year.

The guard’s production has dropped slightly this season. After being the sole player to score in double figures last year for the Demon Deacons, sophomore Rylie Theuerkauf has averaged 11.0 points per game this season. Also, after leading the team in rebounds last year, Demeara Hinds has supplanted the 5-foot-9 Williams in that category.

Published on February 8, 2025 at 7:55 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal