North Carolina
No. 25 Syracuse’s star guards struggle in defeat to North Carolina
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Syracuse was eventually going to pay for its heavy-reliance on its stars. Specifically, its guard tandem of Dyaisha Fair and Georgia Woolley — the typical catalysts of SU’s offense.
Fair and Woolley are the two staples who consistently came through, in one way or another, across Syracuse’s first 12 games. Whether it was Fair’s clutch 3-point shooting to defeat then-No. 13 Notre Dame or Woolley scoring a season-high 23 points to defeat Cornell, the Orange could always count on their backcourt duo.
Yet Thursday against North Carolina, when all else failed, Fair and Woolley were nowhere to be found, either. The two combined to shoot 8-of-32 for just 20 points, with Fair accounting for 17 of those, and went an abysmal 3-of-12 from 3-point range. For an SU side which often was playing from behind and forced into taking contested 3s, finishing 6-of-30, its two star guards — Fair and Woolley — were at the forefront of those struggles.
“That’s not who we are,” SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said on her team settling from 3-point range. “We’re not doing that again.”
Five days after starting Atlantic Coast Conference play with an upset win over Notre Dame, No. 25 Syracuse (11-2, 1-1 ACC) responded with a thud, falling on the road to North Carolina (10-4, 2-0 ACC) 75-51. In its second consecutive spot where SU needed big performances out of its stars, Fair and Woolley shared off-nights from the floor and couldn’t answer UNC’s efficient offense (50% team shooting). The two were forced into errant shots and threw up long range looks as this time, they couldn’t propel the Orange to a comeback victory.
Though the pressure hasn’t been this high for Fair and Woolley in 2023-24. Syracuse’s lack of depth proved costly Thursday, as its overreliance on Fair and Woolley was bound to doom it in the end.
Fair, the point guard, provides the Orange with a veteran presence who hits 3s more often than anyone in the ACC (3.22 makes per game entering Thursday). While Woolley, the 2 guard, provides SU a solid second scoring option, averaging more than 14 points a game.
They’ve been a lethal combination for Syracuse thus far. But not against North Carolina. Not on a night in which the Orange recieved just seven collective points from their bench. Not when their third and fourth scoring options — Alyssa Latham and Alaina Rice — shot a combined 6-of-22 for 16 points. SU was put in a position where it needed its stars to overcome the rest of its deficiencies, and Fair and Woolley failed to do so.
North Carolina guards Deja Kelly and Lexi Donarski primarily matched up on Fair and Woolley. Kelly and Donarski played aggressive defense on the two all night, switching to prevent them from driving and forcing them into errant 3s. Fair converted a couple of 3s late in the first half and had three long range makes through 20 minutes. But in the second half, Fair and Woolley couldn’t make a single 3, going 0-for-9, swarmed by UNC’s guards throughout the frame.
Fair ended the loss with her second-lowest 3-point shooting percentage of the season (25%), while Woolley had her worst outing from long range thus far in the campaign (0-of-6).
“You’ve gotta get to the lip of the rim, that’s who we are. We had openings and we kind of just threw the ball in the air and prayed it went in,” Legette-Jack said.
Syracuse’s head coach said postgame that she had plays designed for the Orange to work the ball inside and get short-range buckets. She wasn’t pleased with her team throwing up a litany of 3-balls but it was all it could do at times with how its depth, particularly in the frontcourt, struggled.
Latham and Kyra Wood couldn’t do much down low, matched up against UNC’s Alyssa Ustby and Maria Gakdeng. The Tar Heels’ forwards forced Latham into an inefficient night, as the freshman shot 4-of-13 and couldn’t regularly score in the paint. While Wood did shoot 4-of-5, she only pulled in four rebounds, as Ustby often skied over her to prevent SU from getting second-chance points — and letting UNC expand its big lead.
Syracuse’s bench didn’t contribute a whole lot, either. Saniaa Wilson has been its lone backup big since Dec. 4, as center Izabel Varejão hasn’t played from then on. Wilson only mustered two points in 26 minutes off the bench and wound up fouling out. Sophie Burrows and Kennedi Perkins were the only others to get significant playing time as backups, but they totaled just five points on a combined 2-for-7 shooting.
So, the bench struggled, the frontcourt was inefficient and Orange couldn’t get second chance points. The weight was entirely on Fair and Woolley’s shoulders. And the Tar Heels proved that can’t happen much more if Syracuse wants to find consistent success in conference play.
The third quarter — where “everything” went wrong for SU, according to Legette-Jack — highlighted the game UNC forced Syracuse into playing. After being down 40-34, North Carolina embarked on an 11-0 run over a three-minute stretch. Fair and Woolley went 0-for-5 in the span, including 0-for-3 from beyond the arc. The Orange couldn’t rely on their outside options, who hadn’t shown they were going to step up.
As SU spent the rest of the game in desperation mode, Fair and Woolley couldn’t make a single 3-pointer down the stretch to give any sort of glimpse of hope. Once a Woolley pass was intercepted by Ustby and taken coast-to-coast for a layup, making it 72-44 UNC midway through the fourth, Syracuse had nothing left to offer as Fair and Woolley were promptly subbed out with time still remaining.
Albeit, it’s just one off-showing. Fair and Woolley are still two integral parts of why the Orange earned their first top 25 ranking under Legette-Jack. Now, Syracuse must find consistency in its depth, or else Fair and Woolley will have too much pressure on them — and be susceptible to more rough outings.
“These kids are good,” Legette-Jack said. “They had a bad damn day, they don’t have a bad life.”
Published on January 4, 2024 at 11:07 pm
Contact Cooper at: [email protected] | cooper_andrews
Less than two weeks after losing its head coach to Duke University, a North Carolina high school football program has been promoted from within.
Kevin Reddick will become the new head coach at Rolesville High School, replacing Ranier Rackley, who became the Director of Player Development at Duke University.
News of the decision was first reported by High School OT.
Reddick was the defensive coordinator for the Rams for the past three seasons, helping the team win 25 games during that run. Last year, Rolesville allowed just under 15 points per game with Reddick in charge of the defense.
North Carolina High School Promotes Defensive Coordinator To Head Coach
Rolesville finished 9-4 last season under Rackley and Reddick.
Reddick is a graduate of New Bern High School, helping the Bears capture the 2007 Class 4AA North Carolina High School Athletic Association State Football championship. He was tabbed the most valuable player of that title game as a sophomore fullback after scoring two touchdowns in a 28-17 victory over Independence.
At New Bern, Reddick earned conference defensive player of the year honors and was all-state at lineback as a senior after recording 189 tackles, eight quarterback sacks, six forced fumbles and four blocked punts. He also ran for over 160 yards and scored six touchdowns.
Kevin Reddick Was College Standout, Had NFL Career Before Becoming Coach
Following his high school career, Reddick signed with North Carolina as a four-star prospect, earning first team all-ACC honors as a senior. He also had offers from North Carolina State, Virginia and Clemson.
With the Tar Heels, Reddick played in 50 games, recording 275 tackles, including 36 for loss, with 8.5 quarterback sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
Reddick signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted rookie free agent, and also had stints with the San Diego Chargers, Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills.
Rolesville reached the North Carolina High School Athletic Association State Football championship game with Reddick on the coaching staff and the third round this past season.
Rolesville Returns Top Rusher, Several Other Key Players
The Rams will be replacing starting quarterback Kaleb Williams, who had almost 2,500 yards passing and 22 touchdowns, as freshman Chase Williams was 8-for-8 for 98 yards with a touchdown in three games.
They will have top running back Amir Brown back, as he ran for 1,374 yards with 22 touchdowns and six games of 100 yards rushing as a junior. He also had 13 receptions for 106 yards and another TD.
Anthony Roberts is another key player back, as he caught 35 passes for 656 yards and nine TDs. Top tacklers Jayden Broadie, Javon Campbell, Genesis Allen and Keonte Sutton are all set to return, as well.
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At least two people are dead and “several” others are injured after a “planned fight” at a North Carolina park escalated into a mass shooting, authorities said.
Police have identified several victims and suspects after Monday’s shooting at Leinbach Park near Jefferson Middle School, according to the Winston-Salem Police Department.
Authorities confirmed there were multiple victims in the shooting, but did not provide an exact number. The suspects were still at large over two hours later.
Officers were called to the park just before 10 a.m. after reports of a fight, which then escalated into multiple people shooting each other.
Area schools are not in lockdown, and classes are operating as normal, police said.
“Due to the number of people involved, efforts are ongoing to account for everyone. At this time, some of those involved in the incident are juveniles,” police said.
According to local news station WFMY, at least three people were taken to the hospital. Officials have not shared their conditions.
Police said the shooting was an isolated incident and remains under investigation.
This is a developing story
The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Sunday, April 19, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 19 drawing
Day: 6-2-0, Fireball: 6
Evening: 4-1-7, Fireball: 5
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from April 19 drawing
Day: 7-6-9-4, Fireball: 4
Evening: 8-1-5-6, Fireball: 6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 5 numbers from April 19 drawing
02-21-32-35-37
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Double Play numbers from April 19 drawing
18-26-27-31-42
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 19 drawing
32-42-52-53-55, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All North Carolina Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.
For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at North Carolina Lottery Offices. By mail, send a prize claim form, your signed lottery ticket, copies of a government-issued photo ID and social security card to: North Carolina Education Lottery, P.O. Box 41606, Raleigh, NC 27629. Prize claims less than $600 do not require copies of photo ID or a social security card.
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a prize claim form and deliver the form, along with your signed lottery ticket and government-issued photo ID and social security card to any of these locations:
- Asheville Regional Office & Claim Center: 16-G Regent Park Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806, 877-625-6886 press #1. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Greensboro Regional Office & Claim Center: 20A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407, 877-625-6886 press #2. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Charlotte Regional Office & Claim Center: 5029-A West W. T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28269-1861, 877-625-6886 press #3. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- NC Lottery Headquarters: Raleigh Claim Center & Regional Office, 2728 Capital Blvd., Suite 144, Raleigh, NC 27604, 877-625-6886 press #4. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
- Greenville Regional Office & Claim Center: 2790 Dickinson Avenue, Suite A, Greenville, NC 27834, 877-625-6886 press #5. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
- Wilmington Regional Office & Claim Center: 123 North Cardinal Drive Extension, Suite 140, Wilmington, NC 28405, 877-625-6886 press #6. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $99,999.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://nclottery.com/.
When are the North Carolina Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
- Pick 3, 4: 3:00 p.m. and 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Cash 5: 11:22 p.m. daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Carolina Connect editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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