Despite a tough six-point loss against North Carolina on Sunday, the Syracuse University women's basketball team has enjoyed an excellent season thus far.

At 16-4 overall, the Orange are also 6-3 inside Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play, and they are primed to reach the NCAA Tournament again this season.

There's been several valuable contributors to this roster, including freshman Uche Izoje, who is now up for a major national award.

The freshman from Nigeria is now up for the Defensive Player of the Year, as she was put on the "watch list" on Tuesday. She leads SU in scoring at 14.5 ppg and also pulls down more than nine rebounds a game.

As noted by a Syracuse press release:

She leads the ACC in blocks per game (2.8) and total blocks (56) ranking sixth and fifth in the nation, respectively. She is 17th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (3.9) and 44th nationally in rebounds per game (9.1)

She has been the ACC Rookie of the Week six times already in this season.

The Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award is presented annually to the top defensive player in women's college basketball, with the winner announced during the NCAA Women's Final Four. The watch list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists in March, followed by four finalists announced in early April. The winner will be revealed at the Final Four, capping a season-long evaluation of the nation's premier defenders.

Syracuse is back home on Thursday night to take on Georgia Tech inside ACC play. The game will tip-off from the JMA Wireless Dome at 6 p.m. ET. After this, it's back on the road for two games against Miami and Boston College. This will be the final home game for the Orange until Feb. 8 when they take on Louisville.

--The Syracuse men's basketball team suffered an 88-68 loss against NC State on Tuesday night, falling to 12-9 overall and 3-5 inside league play. One of the big developments was that the Orange put freshman Calvin Russell III on the floor for the first time. He's one of the best football recruits in Syracuse history.

--Speaking of football, the Orange football program released its schedule for the 2026 season on Monday night as part of the ACC schedule reveal. Syracuse will play 12 games in all, with six home and six on the road.

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