Story by
Syracuse Women's Basketball: Uche Izoje Earning National Recognition
- Story by
- Syracuse Women's Basketball: Uche Izoje Earning National Recognition
The Syracuse Orange women's basketball program will open up its season on Tuesday night (6 p.m. ET) against Sacred Heart at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Orange, led by Felisha Legette-Jack, are coming off a year in which they got to the NCAA Tournament, winning a game against Iowa State in the Round of 64 before losing to the UConn Huskies in the Round of 32.
Advertisement
The program is generally in a good place, but there has been lots of turnover heading into 2026-27. Sophie Burrows and Maddie Potts have transferred and Dominique Darius and Lalia Phelia have graduated.
However, for all the turnover, there is a constant: Sophomore center Uche Izoje, who returned to the program after earning Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year honors last season.
The native of Nigeria played in 27 games, averaging 16.8 ppg and 10 rebounds. She was on the ACC's First-Team and was an eight-time league Rookie of the Week selection.
And heading into this season, she's gotten plenty of national attention. Earlier this week, she was named to the preseason watch list for the National Player of the Year Award, and on Friday, she was named to the watch list for the Lisa Leslie Award, which honors the nation's top center.
Advertisement
Being in the conversation for the Player of the Year puts her in the mix alongside last year's POY Sarah Strong of UConn. That's elite company.
Syracuse Orange center Uche Izoje (44) shoots over Louisville Cardinals forward Elif Istanbulluoglu (11) during the first half at Gas South Arena. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Elsewhere in the news for the Orange...
--The men's basketball team will begin its season on Monday night (7 p.m. ET) at the JMA Wireless Dome against New Haven. The Orange, now helmed by Gerry McNamara, are trying to snap a five-year NCAA Tournament drought. Syracuse went 2-1 in the preseason, losing to UConn and beating Siena and Niagara.
We covered our assessment of their preseason here.
--As for the football team, the Orange (3-4) are home on Saturday afternoon (noon ET) for a Halloween showdown with No. 19 SMU (6-1). This is only the third time ever that these two teams have met, with SMU winning both matchups. Syracuse is looking to pull back to .500 in order to help its chances of making a bowl game at the end of the season.
One of the biggest woes for this team has been its kicking, but head coach Fran Brown took an interesting step in trying to correct that on Thursday night.
