Syracuse women’s basketball recruitment update: the Orange land U18 Australian forward

From one promising recruit to another, the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team is off to a great start on the recruitment front.

This month, Syracuse received its second commitment for the recruiting class of 2023. The team landed Sophie Burrows, a 6-1 forward/center out of Victoria, Australia.

Burrows thrived last year for the women’s Diamond Valley Eagles. In 2022, she averaged 15.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.4 steals per game for the Eagles while shooting nearly 41% from three.

Burrows also has experience in international competition. She recently competed at the 2022 FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship Division A, where she was a strong contributor off of the bench. In five games for the Australian U18 Division A team, Burrows averaged 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while only playing an average of under 13 minutes per game. In the tournament, she shot 50% from the field and 40% from downtown.

For the Orange, the biggest appeal for Burrows is her three-level scoring ability, offensive efficiency, and defensive potential. Syracuse desperately needs a bigger forward who can give the Orange more on offense with also being a deterrent on the defensive end.

From a statistical angle, shooting above 40% from three as a women’s college forward and chipping in 3.3 stocks (steals plus blocks) is incredible. Under Coach Legette-Jack’s system, she would be a perfect hard-nosed defender and a capable scorer.

Burrows’ commitment comes after the Orange already landed ESPN Top 75 player Alyssa Latham, who ranked 72nd on that list and is another 6-1 forward that Syracuse will have on their roster moving forward.