Syracuse basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack says, 'toughness will be our name'

On Sunday, December 1st, the Syracuse Orange women's basketball team beat Yale, 78-50. They struggled some in the first quarter, actually being down 10-9, but fought back and led decisively the rest of the game.

The Orange seemed to be trying to take advantage of a size differential that favored the Cuse and spent a good amount of time driving to the hoop/crashing the interior.

Now again I am no x's and o's expert and I leave the coaching to Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack but having actually attended the game and seeing it up close, it was so fun to watch them play some very good defense and be tough in the paint.

And toughness was something Coach Jack emphasized in her press conference when she said, "you may beat Syracuse but you're gonna know you played somebody when you play us again because toughness is gonna be our name."

She emphasized toughness and the team definitely showed this on the court on this day as they were battling and not quitting. "You can be tough every single second" was another quote I liked from her, especially on a day when Coach Jack's team played to honor her mother, who has been battling Alzheimer's disease for at least 10 years, something I saw my mother deal with personally and know the toughness involved.

On Sunday, Syracuse women's basketball picked up a home win.

As far as the players, to me Georgia Woolley continues to be the leader of this team, leading with 16 points and her on-the-court leadership as well. I will say seeing Izabel Varejao get her first career double-double too was impressive, including shooting 6-8 from the free-throw line and many of those rebounds were in a very impressive and tough manner.

Kyra Wood was also a great spark this team needed today. I also think seeing everyone on the roster get some playing time today due to the sizable lead at one point, we got to see the depth of this team and some who seem to be finding their role on this team still (it is only barely December). And if Coach Jack is right and this team continues to play this tough and physical, I think they will be successful based on what I saw on that court on Sunday.

I said previously that this program deserves better including from me so I took my son to this game and we had a great time. The crowd might not have been 30 thousand large but every fan there seemed to get into it.

There were several signs of support in the crowd, a few high school teams there, three people in "support women's sports" shirts that got a huge ovation from the crowd when they were shown on the scoreboard, one toddler behind us who kept chanting "Let's Go Orange" that I would have adopted on the spot if I could have, and even a contingent from Fulton showing the program its support.

Syracuse is my home and I love it but it is tough. There are people in this community waking up every day unsure which bills have to wait until next week because they need groceries to get through the week. There are people in this community who don't have the luxury of a vehicle to get places, a dependable place they can call home, a job that pays well enough and some who wait in line at shelters hoping to get a bed, especially this time of year when many of us don't want to be in it at all.

There are people who drive in snowstorms to get to those jobs or have loved ones with illnesses who fight on their behalf because they have no choice. So when the women's team decided that they wanted to remind themselves what toughness is all about, I believe them and I believe the tough people in this community will get behind them even more because they will represent us proudly.

So I don't expect this Syracuse women's basketball game to win every game but I do expect to see a team that will play with heart and toughness. A team that if you want to battle for the ball, you better be ready for someone to drop that shoulder into you and fight you to get the ball.

And with them playing at Texas A&M this Wednesday (7:15 pm on ESPNU) and #3 in the country Notre Dame next Sunday at noon on the ACC Network, that toughness will be tested. Hopefully, these teams will know they played a team as tough as the community they represent and as tough as the woman who leads them and toughness will be their name.