Catch, shoot, swish.

That was the routine for Brianna Butler, who made six first-half 3s on her way to a game-high 25 points on Sunday.

The Orange (18-8, 7-6 Atlantic Coast) used its shooting, suffocating defense and overall guard play to beat Boston College (12-15, 3-10) 71-47 front of 1,219 fans at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Syracuse’s guards combined for 63 of the team’s 71 points, shooting 13-of-29 from distance, one make shy of tying a program record.

And as a complement to its proficiency from behind the arc, the Orange carried out Quentin Hillsman’s defensive scheme exactly as planned. Seven different players recorded steals and the Orange forced 18 total turnovers.

“We got matched up, and that was the biggest thing for us,” Hillsman said. “In our press, we were able to close areas down and not give them open looks, and we did a very good job transitioning out of that.”

Before the second media timeout, Butler had already equaled the Eagles’ team total on her own. She made 3-of-4 3s to start the game, helping the Orange pull out to a 10-point lead midway through the first half.

Less than two minutes after the under-12 media timeout, Rachel Coffey and La’Shay Taft joined the party, each canning a 3 to extend Syracuse’s lead to 14. Both guards finished in double digits at 10 and 12 points, respectively.

Hillsman wanted to take advantage of Boston College’s zone defense by shooting over it, and the Orange did just that.

“We’re going to shoot the ball,” Hillsman said. “They got to open areas, and our players did a really good job of sharing the ball.”

Nicole Boudreau and Emilee Daley responded for the hosts with several of their own 3s, but other than that, the Eagles couldn’t get anything going on offense.

Butler, Taft, Coffey and Brittney Sykes were too fast for an outmatched Boston College defense, as they widened the Orange’s lead to 18 by halftime.

In the first three minutes of the second half, Syracuse went on an 8-0 run, courtesy of a Coffey 3, followed by a Sykes jumper and Butler’s seventh 3 of the afternoon.

“It’s very important for our team to play strong out of the gate,” Hillsman said. “They were just making shots.”

From there on out, it was a coast to the finish.

After a Kelly Hughes 3, Boston College went over four minutes without a field goal and Syracuse went on another 8-0 run.

While the rest of the guards were launching bombs from deep, Sykes was converting at the rim, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. All 12 of her attempts came from inside the arc.

After being embarrassed by a combined 61 points in its last two games, the Orange got back on the other side of a blowout.

As the clock ticked down to zero, Syracuse had a 24-point lead, securing a much-needed win to crawl back above .500 in conference play.

“We got big opportunities,” Hillsman said. “If they’re rolling and they’re making shots, you’re going to do well.”

Published on February 16, 2014 at 7:33 pm

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