Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Prior to Syracuse’s bout with Yale Sunday, center Izabel Varejão had started every game this season. But that changed against the Bulldogs.

In the Orange’s two games at the Emerald Coast Classic, Varejão was inefficient, only averaging three rebounds and six points. So, SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack opted to put her on the bench to start against the Bulldogs.

Though after Syracuse trailed 6-2 through six minutes, Legette-Jack subbed Varejão in, hoping to spark its offense. And she did.

The sixth-year senior helped SU pull away in the second quarter and never looked back. In Syracuse’s (4-4, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 78-50 victory over Yale (1-8, 0-0 Ivy League), Varejão posted her first career double-double, notching 12 points and 11 rebounds in just 13 minutes.

“I think it was just taking advantage of my height and just going up strong and finishing,” Varejão said of her paint dominance. “Honestly, just doing what the coaches have been telling me to do, and listening and focusing on that.”

Syracuse got off to a rough start without Varejão. Freshman Keira Scott started in her place, but she missed a shot and logged a turnover on SU’s first possession. Giveaways plagued the Orange, as they recorded four in the first six minutes. This gave Yale a 6-2 lead.

But with 4:30 to go in the first quarter, Varejão swapped places with Kyra Wood and immediately made her presence known on defense. Shy Hawkins blocked a Ciniya Moore jumper, and Varejão snagged the ball off the deflection.

However, Dominique Camp immediately gave the ball right back. Yale passed the ball around, and Avery Lee chucked up a triple but misfired. This time, Varejão muscled her way into the paint to secure the board.

Two minutes later, Varejão had her best play of the game. Marisa Chapman dribbled to the left of the basket and pulled up for a mid-range jumper, thinking she could get the ball over Varejão’s long wingspan. But Chapman was wrong. Varejão got her entire palm on the ball and swatted it out of the air.

Despite notching one more rebound before exiting late in the first, Varejão’s mark was made. Yale didn’t score a single point in the paint in the five minutes she was on the court. Legette-Jack applauded Varejão’s ability to accept the challenge of coming off the bench and make an immediate impact.

“Everyone wants to start, I’m like, ‘Who can finish?’ And I think Iza is a finisher,” Legette-Jack said. “I think that she needs to see what’s happening, do (her) job and come back and sit down.”

SU’s most experienced player didn’t reenter until the 4:29 mark of the second quarter. Syracuse had bounced back to tie the game at 18, but Varejão took over at the end of the half.

Just 15 seconds after subbing in, Varejão notched her first two points. Olivia Schmitt drove into the paint and shoveled the ball back to Varejão. After dishing it to Georgia Woolley on her left, Varejão sprinted to the wide-open area under the basket. She took one dribble and spun around Moore for an easy finish at the basket.

Syracuse didn’t hit another shot for a minute before Varejão drove inside, forcing Chapman to commit her second foul. Though she only made 1-of-2 free throws, Varejão once again established herself on the defensive end moments later.

Chapman missed a jumper but corralled her own rebound. She passed the ball to Moore, who attempted a floater from the charity stripe. Trying to get the ball over Varejão, Moore’s shot nicked the center’s fingers, which fell right into her arms for another board.

Directly off the block, Varejão drove to the other end and converted her second layup of the day, extending SU’s lead to 23-18. She also sank two tries from the free throw line to cap off a personal 7-0 run.

Journey Thompson noted Varejão and the rest of SU’s bigs’ significant height advantage over Yale as a reason for its success in the paint. The Bulldogs only have four players over six feet to Syracuse’s nine.

“(Yale) didn’t have any true bigs. So I think us bigs did a good job picking up what the team needed in that scoring area,” Thompson said.

To cap off her dominant 11-point second quarter, Varejão grabbed an offensive rebound after Thompson misfired a field goal. Immediately after getting the ball, she put up a shot that hit nylon. She then added two more free throws to boost Syracuse to a 33-20 halftime lead.

In the second half, Varejão spent most of the time on the bench as SU’s lead ballooned. With 3:42 left in the third quarter, she again asserted her dominance on the glass, pulling down a defensive rebound off a Kiley Capstraw missed 3. On the other end, she added her ninth board after Woolley shorted a layup. Varejão recorded her first career double-double a minute later on a Chapman missed jumper.

Varejão added one more point and rebound before exiting with SU up big 66-30. She sat for the entire fourth quarter because of Syracuse’s advantage.

Still, Varejão’s presence in the paint proved to be critical. Throughout the week, the coaches told her to rely on her tall frame to make a difference. And she did just that, leading to SU’s 48-22 paint scoring disparity against the Bulldogs.

“Today was just different because the coaches have been telling me the whole week what I’m capable of,” Varejão said. “They just kept reminding me of that.”

Published on December 1, 2024 at 4:27 pm

Contact Noah: njnussba@syr.edu