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After a fourth-quarter masterpiece in her final regular-season home game, Dyaisha Fair was emotional postgame. She was an overlooked and undersized underdog from Rochester, New York. She was doubted by almost everyone throughout her career. Against all odds, the 5-foot-6 guard needed someone to believe in her.

Felisha Legette-Jack was one of a few coaches willing to give her that chance. Across three years at the University at Buffalo, Fair became the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,035 points. But when Legette-Jack departed Buffalo for Syracuse in 2022, Fair entered the transfer portal. Despite interest from South Carolina and Baylor, among other programs, Fair joined Legette-Jack at SU — a program coming off its worst season in more than a decade.

Now, in her fifth season, Fair has sparked one of the program’s best seasons in nearly 10 years. And on senior day against Pitt Sunday, she led No. 17 Syracuse (23-5, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a comeback 63-53 victory over Pittsburgh (8-21, 2-14 ACC). Fair dropped 15 fourth-quarter points in a dominant final 10 minutes for the Orange, where they outscored the Panthers 22-4. She scored a team-high 23 points in the win and became the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball Division I history, passing former Baylor star Brittney Griner.

Fair’s efforts spearheaded SU to its 23rd victory of 2023-24, tying a program record for regular-season wins in a single season.

“This is a young lady that no one really recruited her, nobody really thought she was good enough to leave Rochester,” Legette-Jack said during a media session on Feb. 21. “We did. We thought she was special enough then and then all of a sudden people started saying, ‘I want her too.’ And she stayed with who believed in her first.”

Fair’s decision to return for her fifth year resulted in a campaign filled with milestones. In a fourth-quarter comeback win over Clemson on Jan. 14, Fair became the 16th player in women’s D-I history to score 3,000 points. The next game, she set a program record by draining nine 3-pointers in a comeback win over then-No. 15 Florida State.

As it did in its first matchup with Pitt last month, Syracuse needed to pull out a win in the fourth quarter — a quarter it has thrived in this season. In addition to its comeback efforts over Clemson and Florida State, SU closed its game versus then-No. 15 Louisville on a 19-9 run to defeat the Cardinals on Feb. 11.

Two games later, the Orange had to thwart a Virginia comeback. Syracuse led by as many as 20 points, but UVA brought the game within two possessions late in the fourth quarter. So SU turned to Fair, who answered every threat with 11 of her game-high 33 points coming in the fourth quarter.

Versus the Panthers, Syracuse needed Fair once again to dig it out of its deficit. Through three quarters, the Orange shot 13-for-44 (29.5%) from the field, resulting in an eight-point deficit. Fair struggled immensely, scoring just eight points on 3-for-12 shooting. But Syracuse goes as Fair goes, and she knew she needed to step up.

“For us to be able to have success or me to be able to contribute, I have to take shots,” Fair said postgame. “So that’s what I did.”

After freshman guard Sophie Burrows nailed her third 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, Fair tried adding a triple of her own. Though, her attempt was long, giving the Panthers an opportunity to get their lead back to double digits.

Defensively, Syracuse stifled Pitt’s offense, forcing a shot clock violation — the first of seven fourth-quarter turnovers. Because her shot wasn’t falling, especially from deep with a 1-for-8 performance at that point, Fair drew a foul in the lane on SU’s next possession.

She hit both free throws, then after Burrows notched a steal, Fair shook off a double-team before drilling a pull-up mid-range shot. With the Orange trailing 49-45, Burrows forced Liatu King, who scored a game-high 29 points, into a charge.

Fair tried bringing SU within two on a step-back mid-range jumper but missed off the front rim. Yet, hustle plays from Kyra Wood and Alaina Rice gave SU another chance, Fair missed a corner 3.

But Syracuse, the seventh-best offensive-rebounding team in D-I, according to HerHoopStats, gained a third chance after Rice pulled down another rebound. On her third chance, Fair didn’t settle for a jump shot. She maneuvered her way into the paint and drained a floater, bringing Pitt’s lead to 49-47 at the 7:30 mark.

The Orange were then held scoreless for the next three minutes, but the Panthers only tacked on two points on a bucket from King. After Pitt missed three straight chances at the rim at the midway point of the quarter, Burrows pulled down the rebound and got the Orange a three-on-three opportunity down the court.

As Fair dribbled the ball near the free throw line, she fired her fourth assist of the game to Burrows, breaking SU’s 2:40 scoring drought. Though Syracuse couldn’t score any points after a technical foul where it was awarded two free throws and the ball, it took the lead with under three minutes remaining when forward Alyssa Latham converted on an and-one. King responded with her 29th point on the other end, regaining Pitt a 53-52 lead.

Then, Fair did what she does best: take over down the stretch.

She dribbled down the court before stopping and nailing a 3-pointer. Pitt’s Marley Washenitz tried answering with a 3 of her own, but it clanked off the backboard, one of the Panthers’ 14 misses from beyond the arc.

On the ensuing possession, Fair was matched up with Washenitz, who she shook on the elbow before giving Syracuse a 57-53 lead with a minute and a half remaining. From there, she converted all four of her free throws, helping the Orange to a 63-53 win.

“When you tell somebody that you believe in them and you tell them that they’re enough, they will soar,” Legette-Jack said. “(Fair) is a living example of that.”

Published on February 25, 2024 at 4:55 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon