Syracuse Travels to Charlottesville to Face Red-Hot Virginia

Syracuse (13-3, 3-2 ACC) looks to bounce back from Thursday's 77-57 home loss to Virginia Tech when the Orange travel to face undefeated-in-conference Virginia (13-3, 5-0 ACC) on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra from John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavaliers enter riding a seven-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the ACC, and remain one of just three unbeaten teams in conference play alongside Louisville and Duke. Virginia sits at No. 37 in the NET rankings while Syracuse checks in at No. 47.

Syracuse holds an 11-6 advantage in the all-time series but is just 3-4 in Charlottesville. The teams last met on Feb. 2, 2025, when Virginia escaped the JMA Wireless Dome with a narrow 70-67 victory.

Sunday's matchup features a unique mentorship storyline as Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack faces her former player, Virginia's Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. The two first connected when Legette-Jack coached Hamilton during her final two seasons at Hofstra. They later reunited when Legette-Jack hired Hamilton as an assistant at Indiana for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. Legette-Jack holds a 2-1 edge in head-to-head meetings against her former protégé.

Syracuse struggled offensively in Thursday's loss to the Hokies, shooting just 35% from the field and 25% from three-point range. Freshman sensation Uche Izoje led the Orange with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Laila Phelia added 12 points. The loss snapped a two-game ACC winning streak and handed Syracuse just its second home defeat of the season.

Izoje continues her historic freshman campaign, ranking fourth nationally in total blocks (48) and third in blocks per game (3.0) while leading the ACC in both categories. The 6-foot-3 center has earned four ACC Rookie of the Week honors and USBWA National Freshman of the Week recognition, becoming the first Syracuse freshman to claim the national award. She leads Syracuse with 13.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting an ACC-best 62.4% from the field.

Phelia (12.5 ppg) and Dominique Darius (12.1 ppg) provide additional scoring punch, while junior Sophie Burrows contributes 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The Orange lead the ACC in offensive rebounding at 18.3 per game and rank second in the conference in blocks per game (6.3).

The Orange are 2-0 away from home in conference play with wins at SMU and Wake Forest, and they'll need another strong road performance to knock off the surging Cavaliers Sunday at 2 p.m.

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