WBB : Postseason aspirations take hit with 3rd-straight loss
As Quentin Hillsman evaluated his team’s third-consecutive conference defeat, the Syracuse women’s basketball head coach seemed uncharacteristically tense and mentally drained. Still, during his three minutes at the podium, Hillsman’s words spoke volumes.
His team’s 77-75 loss against No. 25 Pittsburgh Saturday brought him close to an emotional breakdown.
So much so that Hillsman, usually amicable and unguarded with the media, declined to answer questions after providing his brief introductory statement.
‘It’s tough to stand up here today because my kids got beat up all week,’ Hillsman said. ‘My heart is heavy for my kids, because no kid deserves to go out in these kinds of games and lose, whether it’s Syracuse or Pittsburgh. These kids are my life. These kids provide for my family. If they don’t produce, we all know how this business is. I’m not here.’
For SU, Xenia Stewart’s heartbreaking jump shot with 0.4 seconds left has more ramifications besides giving the Orange its fourth loss in Big East play – it puts the squad in a challenging predicament for the postseason.
Now, Syracuse will have to approach the rest of its schedule with immediate urgency if it hopes to have a shot at receiving a low seed in the Big East tournament. With a low seeding comes the possibility of a pairing with a formidable conference powerhouse and the risk of an early exit.
The Orange is also now in jeopardy of squandering an opportunity to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse almost avoided this scenario late in the second half when it had a one-point lead with six minutes remaining. But that would be the last lead the Orange held.
Despite the hurdles, Syracuse senior guard Chandrea Jones remained calm and optimistic when discussing her team’s upcoming 10-game stretch and murky postseason aspirations.
‘(The loss) hurts a lot,’ Jones said. ‘But it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish. We just have to finish strong. I think we’re a good team and we can beat just about anybody. It’s a challenge.’
Although Pittsburgh emerged victorious, the Panthers are aware that the game could’ve easily gone the other way. If Syracuse left the Carrier Dome with the victory, Pitt would have had its own trying situation in the Big East.
Panthers forward Sophronia Sallard clearly understood what was at stake before the game was played. Sallard, a Syracuse product of Nottingham High School, had a firsthand appreciation of both universities’ perspectives and what they both brought to the Big East and to Saturday’s competition.
‘This conference is a really, really good conference, and one of the best conferences,’ Sallard said. ‘The way Syracuse plays is really competitive, and they also bring that street ball. So we were just going to play it down to the tee and whichever way it went, we were going to stick it out.’
The game didn’t end in the Orange’s favor, and now the squad will have to steal a win on the road to improve its chances for the NCAA Tournament. But that’s never an easy challenge in the Big East.
Pittsburgh head coach Agnus Berenato knows that feeling, which is why she felt privileged that her team achieved that feat Saturday in the Carrier Dome.
‘It was a tremendous win for Pittsburgh, especially in the Big East when you can go on the road and you can get a win in such an unbelievable fashion,’ Berenato said.
Hillsman and Syracuse will hope to replicate the Panthers’ success Tuesday against Marquette. But despite the outcome of the game, the Orange will be feeling the pressure from its Big East opponents for the rest of the season.
Unfortunately for Hillsman, it didn’t take long for him to experience it. His team’s two-point loss against Pittsburgh evoked more stress and dejection from him than the 54-point blowout last week in Connecticut.
‘These kids are the reason why I’m here,’ Hillsman said. ‘I don’t have this job if wasn’t for Nicole Michael, Erica Morrow, Chandrea Jones, Tasha Harris, Marisa Gobuty. I can go down the list. These are kids that I brought to Syracuse University to win championships. My heart is heavy today because they didn’t deserve to lose this basketball game.’
