Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Syracuse women’s basketball team will open its season Nov. 10 against Monmouth and play its first ACC game just days later when it meets Notre Dame. Both of those games will be played in the Carrier Dome.
SU will retire former great Felisha Legette-Jack’s jersey during the Notre Dame game on Nov. 14. Legette-Jack, the head coach at the University of Buffalo, will be the first woman athlete at Syracuse to have her jersey retired.
The ACC released its women’s basketball schedule Wednesday night on the ACC Network. The Orange plays 10 of its first 14 games at home; SU does not play a true road game until Dec. 30 (at North Carolina), though it will play in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas in November.
The Orange women are coming off a tumultuous off-season of mass transfers (12), recruit decommitments and coach Quentin Hillsman’s resignation after a story in The Athletic detailed accusations of bullying and other troubling behavior in the program. Former Associate Head Coach Vonn Read will coach Syracuse this season; SU is calling him the “acting head coach.”
Some items to note: Five former Syracuse players, many of whom were critical pieces in the Orange program, will play against their former team this season. Emily Engstler is now a Louisville Cardinal. Digna Strautmane will play for Georgia Tech. Both Louisville and Georgia Tech are expected to have very good teams this season. The Orange plays the Cardinals twice (Jan. 13, Feb. 6); it faces Georgia Tech once (Jan. 20).
Kiara Lewis now plays for Clemson (Dec. 11), Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi for Miami (Feb. 3) and Amaya Finklea-Guity for Duke (Jan. 9). The Blue Devils took most of last season off after the team voted to shut it down for Covid reasons under first-year coach Kara Lawson.
Here’s the entire 2021-22 Syracuse schedule:
Nov. 10 -- Monmouth
Nov. 14 -- Notre Dame
Nov. 20 -- South Florida (part of Battle 4 Atlantis)
Nov. 28 -- Colgate
Dec. 1 -- Ohio State (ACC/Big 10 Challenge)
Dec. 5 -- Central Connecticut State
Dec. 8 -- Cornell
Dec. 11 -- Clemson
Dec. 18 -- UMBC
Dec. 22 -- Siena
Dec. 30 -- at North Carolina
Jan. 2 -- Florida State
Jan. 6 -- at Boston College
Jan. 9 -- Duke
Jan. 13 -- at Louisville
Jan. 16 -- at Virginia
Jan. 20 -- Georgia Tech
Jan. 27 -- at Notre Dame
Jan. 30 -- Pittsburgh
Feb. 3 -- at Miami
Feb. 6 -- Louisville
Feb. 13 -- at Pittsburgh
Feb. 17 -- Virginia Tech
Feb. 20 -- North Carolina State
Feb. 24 -- at Wake Forest
Feb. 27 -- Boston College
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