Orange Comeback to Defeat Virginia

Sunday, January 11

Charlottesville, VA

2 PM

Syracuse University

14-3,4-2ACC

Virginia

13-4,5-1ACC

Syracuse

Virginia

1/11/2026 4:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Laila Phelia Interview

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.- The Syracuse women's basketball team (14-3, 4-2) defeated Virginia (13-4, 5-1) to hand the Cavaliers their first ACC loss of the season. Laila Phelia's career-high 38-point game helped the trailing Orange soar past Virginia 79-60.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Phelia kicked off the game, scoring in back-to-back drives with a field goal and a bucket beyond the arc. The Orange offense had a slow start in the first quarter until Angelica Velez inbounded the ball to Sophie Burrows, who hit a corner three-pointer. Uche Izoje added another two points to the board to close out the quarter, but Syracuse trailed 17-12.

Another corner three-point shot from Burrows early in the second quarter helped chip away at the Cavaliers' lead. Phelia found the net easily in the second quarter, shooting 5-6 from the field and 3-4 at the line. The Orange entered the locker room still falling behind Virginia 34-28.

A series of shots started the third quarter off strong for the Orange. Izoje made both of her free throws from the line to give SU its first lead of the game since the opening basket. Two back-to-back steals by Olivia Schmitt resulted in Phelia adding more points to the board to keep the game tight. A foul on Virginia put Phelia at the line to seal a 51-49 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Burrows knocked down four shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, extending the lead over the Cavaliers. SU went on a 9-0 scoring run with buckets from Kiera Scott, Burrows and Phelia to make the comeback 79-60 win over Virginia.

OF NOTE

Laila Phelia scored a new career high of 38 points (previously 30 vs. Indiana, March 3, 2024).
Phelia has reached 1,500 points in her career.
Phelia is the first player to score 30+ points for the Orange since Dyaisha Fair (32) against Arizona (NCAAT) on March 23, 2024.
Sophie Burrows shot 7-8 from beyond the arc and recorded five steals.
Kiera Scott shot a perfect 3-3 from the field.
Olivia Schmitt had five assists, the most on the team.
Uche Izoje led the team in rebounds, collecting seven.
Aurora Almon made her first career start.
The Orange tallied 12 steals and three blocks against the Cavaliers.

UP NEXT
Syracuse will welcome California to the East Coast on Thursday, January 15. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Tickets for Thursday's game are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting cuse.com/basketballtickets.

For more on the Syracuse women's basketball team, follow @CuseWBB on social media.