Dyaisha Fair climbs to fifth on NCAA women's basketball scoring list

Syracuse guard Dyaisha Fair is now fifth on the NCAA Division I's all-time scoring list.

Fair, a Rochester native and one of the most prolific scorers in women's basketball history, now has 3,302 career points. Fair past Brittney Griner's total during the No. 17 Syracuse Orange's latest comeback victory — a 63-53 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Entering the Atlantic Coast Conference contest five points away from sole possession of fifth place, Fair tied Griner at 3,283 points on a first quarter free throw, and later past her on a third quarter layup. Fair, an Edison Tech grad, scored 17 of her 23 points in Sunday's second half.

Syracuse coach Felisha Legette-Jack called Fair "one of the best players to ever play the game" when the fifth-year guard became the 16th woman in NCAA history to eclipse 3,000 points in January.

Fair from 3

Not only is Fair an elite scorer. The 5-foot-5 guard is currently one of the nation's best long range shooters.

Fair has made 99 3-pointers this season, which ranks second behind Iowa's Caitlin Clark (143) who recently became NCAA Division I's all-time scoring leader. Fair made a school record nine 3s during a win over No. 15 Florida State. She dropped a season-high 38 points in a win at Boston College.

This month, Fair earned Naismith Player of the Week, was selected to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Players of the Week, and was featured on ESPN College Gameday Sunday morning.

NCAA Division I career points leaders

A long postseason run could lift Fair even higher on the NCAA Division I career points list.

Fair is 92 points away from sole possession of fourth place. She's scored 611 points for a 21.8 points per game average this winter. Syracuse has one regular season remaining before the ACC tournament.

Fair scored 2,035 of her points during her All-American tenure at the University at Buffalo, where she led the Bulls to a Mid-American Conference tournament title and NCAA berth under Legette-Jack in 2022 before they left for Syracuse.

1. Caitlin Clark, Iowa (present): 3,593.

2. Kelsey Plum, Washington (2017): 3,527.

3. Kelsey Mitchell, Ohio State (2018): 3,402.

4. Jackie Stiles, Missouri State (2001): 3,393.

5. Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse (present): 3,302.

6. Brittney Griner, Baylor (2013): 3,283.

Don't call it a comeback

Syracuse is used to erasing late deficits. Just two weeks ago, the Orange beat No. 15 Louisville 73-72 on Fair's game-winning free throws.

On Sunday, Fair's scoring surge helped Syracuse (23-5, 13-4 in ACC play) end Sunday's senior game on a 25-4 run after trailing Pittsburgh (8-21, 2-14) by 11 late in the third quarter.

Alyssa Latham's three-point play gave the Orange a 52-51 lead with 2:58 left. Fair scored Syracuse's next nine points, beginning her solo run with a 3 to regain the lead at 55-53 at the 2:25 mark. Her eighth and ninth straight points came from the free throw line, which gave the Orange a comfortable 61-53 advantage with 44 seconds remaining.

What's next

Syracuse wraps up its regular season slate with a trip to North Carolina State (23-4, 11-4) at 7 p.m. Thursday before preparing for the ACC tournament.

— Marquel Slaughter is a journalist for the Democrat and Chronicle, specializing in high school sports. He has been reporter for 14 years. Follow him @MarquelSports on X or on Instagram. You can contact him at mslaughter1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Dyaisha Fair climbs to fifth on NCAA women's basketball scoring list