Before heading to Greensboro, North Carolina, Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman laid out his team’s only option simply: Win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. 

“We understand what we’ve got to do,” Hillsman told reporters on March 3. “At least we know what’s clear. If we’re trying to make the NCAA tournament, we’ve got to win the tournament now.”

Syracuse entered its second-round matchup with Virginia on a three-game losing streak but completed the first step to accomplishing Hillsman’s mission. With a defense that turned Virginia over 26 times and held UVA to 29% field goal shooting, the Orange advanced with a 67-50 victory. They’ll face the conference’s No. 1 seed Louisville in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. tomorrow. 

“Our kids really grinded this one out,” Hillsman said after the game. 

All afternoon, Syracuse anticipated passes both in the half-court and full-court press. First-team All-ACC member Kiara Lewis was especially aggressive in the passing lanes, snagging three steals. She also drew multiple charges.

With 3:44 left in the contest, senior guard Gabrielle Cooper (three steals) tracked down a looping inbound pass to half court, out-jumped two Cavaliers and tapped it ahead, drawing a foul in the process. Later in the quarter, Cooper and Elemy Colomé combined on a trap near midcourt to force Virginia’s season-high 25th turnover. UVA averages 16 turnovers per game. 

At first, SU got its scoring from sophomore forward Emily Engstler, who didn’t travel to last year’s ACC tournament because of a coach’s decision. She led SU on both ends in the first half, going 3-for-4 from behind the arc to the tune of 11 points, while also snagging seven rebounds. 

Syracuse extended its lead to nine with a minute remaining in the half, but back-to-back Cavalier buckets trimmed the deficit to four. Still, SU had scored 38 first-half points, nearly as many as its total from Feb. 2’s matchup with Virginia, when the Orange scored 41 — their lowest output since 2007. 

Engstler opened the second half with a turnaround fadeaway in the paint after driving from the corner, leading ACC Network broadcasters to ask “Who is this Emily Engstler?” 

But with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter, Engstler rolled her ankle. In tears, she hopped to the bench and didn’t return. SU had already lost its spark-plug guard off the bench when Teisha Hyman went down against NC State, and with Engstler, SU lost its best rebounder, interior defender and secondary playmaker. 

Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi replaced Enstler in the frontcourt valiantly, immediately scoring two buckets and drawing four charges. With Djaldi-Tabdi and other SU frontcourt players stepping up, as well as continued tenacious defense, the Orange outscored UVA by 11 after Engstler left the game.

A Digna Strautmane 3-pointer from the wing two minutes into the final frame gave the Orange an 11-point advantage, their largest of the game at the time. Then, Joceyln Willoughby, the conference’s leading scorer, responded with a triple of her own. 

SU maintained its lead with its pick-and-roll offense and aggressive defense — it scored 30 points off turnovers. After a lefty finish on the catch in the pick-and-roll, Amaya Finklea-Guity (season-high 15 points) deflected a pass out of bounds right in front of SU’s bench. Hillsman swung his right arm in a fist pump.

The final quarter was no different for the Cavaliers, who never deciphered SU’s defense. A deflection by Lewis led to a shot-clock violation, and other rotations forced UVA into disjointed offensive sets. 

Syracuse held UVA scoreless for the final seven minutes of the second-round victory. SU’s defense carries that scoreless streak into the quarterfinal, where Louisville awaits. 

Published on March 5, 2020 at 5:11 pm

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