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Syracuse guard Sophie Burrows scored a career-high 22 points Sunday. She sank four triples. She notched four steals. And she made a season-high nine shots.

The only problem? It wasn’t enough for Syracuse to beat Virginia.

Despite Burrows’ 22 points on 4-for-8 3-point shooting, SU (8-13, 2-8 Atlantic Coast) fell to Virginia (12-11, 4-7 Atlantic Coast) 70-67. The Australian surpassed her previous career-high of 18 points, set in SU’s season-ending loss to UConn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 25, 2024, but noted the statline didn’t hold the same meaning since the Orange lost to Virginia and fell out of the top 15 teams that qualify for the ACC Tournament.

“I was just trying to do what I could do to get the team a win, but it didn’t happen, so it’s a little irrelevant in my eyes,” Burrows said postgame.

However, Burrows rebounded from a two-point performance against Clemson on Jan. 26 and continued a productive scoring stretch. The sophomore scored 15 or more points in SU’s three games prior to the win over the Tigers — at Louisville (17), at Boston College (15) and versus NC State (16).

Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack has praised Burrows as a reliable 3-point threat this season. Sunday proved it with a tie for the most made 3s in her career on the second most attempts of the season. SU attempted a season-high 25 3s but only made six of them — four of which were by Burrows.

Burrows signaled early in the game she’d shaken off her 1-for-6 shooting and 0-for-2 3-point clip at Clemson. On Syracuse’s first possession of the game, Dominique Camp found Burrows on the right wing. She quickly released her shot before UVA’s Latasha Lattimore closed out, and it found the net.

Camp, who had seven assists, combined well with Burrows off inbounds from under the hoop, as the pair paired for two quick mid-range jumpers off out-of-bounds cuts late in the first quarter on consecutive near-carbon-copy plays.

As the game stayed tight, with the Orange leading by one midway through the second quarter, Burrows capped a lengthy SU possession with a corner 3. Camp missed a free-throw line floater. Georgia Woolley snagged an offensive rebound and dished it to Kyra Wood, whose shot was blocked. Woolley again scrapped to secure possession, then kicked it to the corner to an open Burrows. Her shot dropped and the JMA Wireless Dome crowd rose to their feet in excitement.

“The way (Burrows) shot the ball today is who she is and who we need her to be moving forward,” Legette-Jack said of Burrows postgame.

Burrows maintained the crowd’s energy with a putback layup as time expired in the first half, pushing Syracuse’s lead to 36-34.

As Syracuse started the third quarter on a 17-4 run, Burrows propelled the Orange with two quick steals and two more 3s. Burrows jumped the passing lane, anticipating UVA’s Paris Clark’s dish, grabbing a steal. She then raced down the floor in transition, and the possession finished with Izabel Varejão scoring a lay-in. The Cavaliers then called a timeout less than a minute into the second half.

Burrows again produced another steal on Virginia’s first possession out of the timeout when she grabbed a loose ball poked free by Woolley. Though Burrows couldn’t make a floater inside, Syracuse grabbed the offensive board. Burrows repositioned herself in the right corner, and Varejão found her on a kick out. She canned the triple to extend the Orange’s lead to 45-36 and score her 18th points.

With just over two minutes left in the third quarter, Camp inbounded the ball to Wood, who dropped it off to Burrows at the top of the arc. Burrows put her head down and drove downhill. UVA’s Lattimore swung for a steal, but Burrows evaded the swipe and laid the ball in to eclipse her previous career-best from last March.

On SU’s ensuing possession, Burrows switched to a distributor, notching one of three assists in the afternoon. She received the ball on the left wing of the arc but was quickly closed down by Lattimore. Noticing UVA’s tallest player, Burrows dumped a pass to Wood, who was cutting inside to the vacated paint. Wood dropped in the layup to extend the Orange’s cushion to seven points in a strong third quarter.

But Virginia rallied from its tepid start to the third quarter and 14-point deficit to level the score at 62-62 by the 6:51 mark of the fourth quarter. By that time, Syracuse’s offense had gone cold, and it needed a spark plug. So, it turned to Burrows.

But she couldn’t convert. With the score still tied with under five minutes left, Burrows unleashed a 3 from the top of the arc. It rimmed out. Then, with SU holding a one-point advantage with 3:51 left in the matchup, Burrows had some space on the right wing of the arc. Her shot was short.

Eventually, after an 8-2 run handed UVA a 70-65 lead, Burrows got on the scoresheet again with a lay-in off a cut inside with just over a minute remaining.

SU notched a stop on the ensuing Virginia possession and had a chance to level the score with a 3. Legette-Jack called timeout with 20 seconds left. The head coach said postgame she wanted to find Burrows on the possession, but the Orange’s two 3-point attempts came from Woolley and Camp. Neither went in.

As the door closed on Syracuse and what would’ve been an important victory, Burrows’ career-high 22 points kept the Orange close and continued a string of strong performances in her sophomore season. But Legette-Jack said she wanted even more from the guard.

“I like 25 (points) better,” Legette-Jack said, referring to the points separating Syracuse and Virginia in the tight contest.

Published on February 2, 2025 at 4:31 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal