Syracuse University’s women’s basketball team will travel to Charlottesville this Sunday to face the University of Virginia in an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) matchup. The Orange, with a 13-3 overall record and 3-2 in ACC play, are coming off a 77-57 home loss to Virginia Tech.
Virginia enters the game undefeated in conference play at 5-0 and has won seven consecutive games, which is currently the longest winning streak in the ACC. Alongside Louisville and Duke, Virginia remains one of three teams without a conference loss. In the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, Virginia stands at No. 37 while Syracuse is ranked No. 47.
Historically, Syracuse leads the all-time series against Virginia with an 11-6 record but has only managed three wins in seven games played in Charlottesville. Their most recent meeting took place on February 2, 2025, when Virginia narrowly defeated Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome by a score of 70-67.
The upcoming game also highlights a coaching connection: Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack will face her former player Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, now head coach at Virginia. Legette-Jack coached Hamilton during her final two seasons as a player at Hofstra and later brought her on as an assistant coach at Indiana for two seasons. Legette-Jack holds a slight advantage in their coaching matchups with two wins to Hamilton’s one.
In Thursday’s loss to Virginia Tech, Syracuse struggled offensively, making just 35% of its field goal attempts and shooting 25% from beyond the arc. Freshman Uche Izoje led the team with 14 points and seven rebounds; Laila Phelia contributed another 12 points. The defeat ended Syracuse’s two-game ACC winning streak and marked their second home loss this season.
Izoje continues to stand out nationally among freshmen, ranking fourth in total blocks (48) and third in blocks per game (3.0). She leads both categories within the ACC and has received four ACC Rookie of the Week honors as well as recognition as USBWA National Freshman of the Week—the first Syracuse freshman to earn that national distinction. Izoje averages team highs with 13.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting an ACC-leading 62.4% from the field.
Other key contributors include Phelia (12.5 points per game), Dominique Darius (12.1 ppg), and junior Sophie Burrows who adds nine points and five rebounds per contest. As a team, Syracuse leads the ACC in offensive rebounding with an average of 18.3 per game and ranks second in blocked shots per game at 6.3.
Syracuse is undefeated on the road so far in conference play after victories over SMU and Wake Forest, setting up what could be another challenging test against Virginia on Sunday afternoon.
