WBB : Louisville hands Syracuse 6th Big East loss of year
Even with sophomore guard Erica Morrow back in the lineup against No. 5 Louisville, the Syracuse women’s basketball team couldn’t avoid falling victim to another game-changing run that would ultimately dictate the final outcome.
It all happened in a seven-minute span to end the first half. During that time period, the Orange went from leading the Cardinals by four to plummeting behind its nationally ranked foe by 16 points.
Syracuse would never recover from the considerable deficit. With timely rebounding and a stonewalling defense, the Cardinals (21-2, 8-1 Big East) flew past the Orange (14-8, 3-6), 78-57, and handed it a sixth loss in Big East competition – tying the total conference losses SU finished with last season – Tuesday night at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky.
For the second consecutive game, a double-digit first half run by the opposing team buried the Orange’s opportunity to place itself back in contention.
Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman doesn’t attribute the relapsing periods to lack of skill. Rather, Hillsman’s main concern is his team’s youth and ability to match the starters’ production with his bench.
‘We need to start getting more productivity from our bench,’ Hillsman said via telephone after the game. ‘Look who we’re subbing into the game. We’re subbing in either first-year players or freshmen, and I think that’s what is getting us right now in those games. We’re not able to maintain the same intensity and game plan that we have with our starters in the game.’
Before relinquishing the lead, Syracuse came out of the gates playing with urgency and resolve. In the first possession of the game, Morrow quickly drained a mid-range shot and showed the Cardinals team she was healing from her chest contusion.
Both teams traded buckets during the subsequent possessions, leading to several lead changes for the following 10 minutes. Orange forward Juanita Ward would end the constant standstill, scoring a fast-break layup to power SU ahead to a four-point lead, 22-18.
But that’s where Syracuse’s chance at victory essentially ended. At that moment, Cardinals’ guard Angel McCoughtry, the nation’s seventh-leading scorer, initiated an offensive charge. The team followed suit on the other end by cracking down on defense.
Throughout the stretch, Syracuse was picked apart by Louisville’s pinpoint shooting and stonewalled by its stingy defense. Finishing the half on a 26-8 run, the Cardinals retook the lead and widened it to a comfortable 16-point margin at the half.
‘They just got a few, easy baskets in transition,’ Hillsman said. ‘We just didn’t get back on a few possessions and then they got breakaway layups and that blew the game open in the first half. It’s just the simple thing of not having full balance and not getting back in transition.’
During the second half, the Orange tried its best to chip away at the Cardinals’ mounting lead, and for moments it seemed that Syracuse would. Senior Chandrea Jones, who had her seventh double-double of the season – 18 points and 10 rebounds – played aggressively on offense and tried to help her team regain composure.
But Louisville’s bench held off Jones’ fervent attempt in the end, drastically outscoring the Orange bench, 37-8. At game’s end, six Cardinals players finished in double figures, ultimately proving Hillsman’s notion concerning his docile bench.
‘They are a very good basketball team and they have people who can score the ball,’ Hillsman said. ‘We just need to do a good job of scoring ourselves. We have a young and inexperienced bench and sometimes that gets you in trouble, and I think during the last two games that got us in trouble. We just got to get back to the gym and keep practicing.’
