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Early in the second quarter, Syracuse slowly crept into a full-court press, once it ramped up at the end of the first quarter. Teisha Hyman had just lost the ball in transition, unable to successfully dribble in time for a layup in transition to extend the Orange’s lead. But Najé Murray crouched at the top of the key, eyed Olivia Miles’ dribble and swatted the ball away, finishing the sequence with a wide-open layup in transition.

That’s what went well for SU, a team that finished with 23 forced turnovers. The next play was simple, but it signified why Notre Dame won for the 18th straight time at home against Syracuse, and why the Orange’s losing streak has continued into the end of January, unable to overcome the gauntlet of five straight ranked teams. SU stopped pressing and allowed the Fighting Irish to set up their offense. Sam Brunelle stood on the outer arc and awaited a kick-out pass from inside the paint. She nailed her quick shot to give Notre Dame a one point lead.

Thursday’s rematch proved to be a more competitive game down the stretch than Syracuse’s (8-10, 1-7 Atlantic Coast) first contest with Notre Dame (15-4, 6-2). The Orange scored in the final eight minutes this time around and kept the game within reach but never closed the gap enough to close out its first road win of the season, falling 83-62 to the Irish.

“We were right there in striking distance. Very similar to the first time we played Notre Dame and they outscored us in the fourth quarter … that was the difference,” acting head coach Vonn Read said. “They got exhausted.”

Still, Syracuse has consistently found success turning turnovers, steals and lockdown defense inside the paint into offense in transition. It generates the most steals per game in the conference, and against nonconference teams, successfully became one of the highest scoring teams nationally. The Orange continued that play throughout the game against Notre Dame, which allowed them to stay close with a team that blew them out in the second game of the season.

Read said prior to Syracuse’s game against Louisville that the Orange wanted to try and push the tempo and rely on their fast lineup to overwhelm teams. It’s an approach that worked for SU against inferior nonconference opponents and in the stunning upset of then-No. 18 Ohio State. But entering into ACC play forced Syracuse to face the harsh reality of its thin lineup and colossally undersized starting five.

Early in the first quarter against Notre Dame, that high-tempo offense which thrived off steals and points in transition resurfaced. The beginning of Thursday night’s game witnessed both teams trading baskets for a considerable amount of time. Once Syracuse settled in, it was able to kick out and dish down low to find the open player. On two straight possessions, the Orange forced a turnover and capped off the sequence with a fast-break layup from Chrislyn Carr.

But once Syracuse settled into its offense — a 5-out system that Thursday night hinged on quick shots from deep and outlet passes down low to Christianna Carr or Alaysia Styles — shots stopped falling. Off of a steal, scoring for the Orange was almost guaranteed. In the second quarter, Hyman settled at the top of the outer arc. She drove after a large lane on the right side opened up but missed the ensuing layup.

“We don’t press as much as we like to or play the way that we want to,” Read said. “We’re just trying to save legs and give ourselves a chance for 40 minutes and take time off the clock with the press.”

Inconsistent shooting plagued the Orange in their last matchup with the Fighting Irish. SU followed a nearly 50% performance from the field in the third quarter by making just three shots throughout the final 10 minutes. Syracuse led at the beginning of the second quarter following a hot start to the game but instantly cooled off following a bank shot from Hyman, missing its next eight shots.

The Orange hardly scored down the stretch to end the first half but immediately came out of the half with a scoring surge, led by a return of the full-court press and up-tempo transition open looks.

“You give credit to Notre Dame. They just kept rotating bodies in,” Read said.

This is a much different Syracuse team than the first time it played Notre Dame in the Carrier Dome. Eboni Walker’s 25 minutes and five rebounds off the bench didn’t travel to South Bend, nor did Jayla Thornton’s contributions as someone whom the Orange could have utilized as another sharp shooter. SU did bring a quality defense that has come and gone throughout the season. It forces 20.3 turnovers per game, but at the end of the first quarter against Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish had already recorded eight turnovers.

Read had to trend away from the full-court press, a secret weapon that the Orange developed once the new crop of players familiarized themselves with each other. “It’s dictated on how the players are feeling,” Read said, even though he emphasized that the team would like to press for the entire 40 minutes. But once the Orange warmed up and started to see more shots fall, they turned up the defensive dial, translating steals into offense.

The press threw off Notre Dame early on, leading to forced up shots from key scorers like Dara Mabrey and Miles. Syracuse tended to struggle settling back into its spots on defense at various points throughout the night but made up for being out of place with strong defense down low. But as the press faded, so did the Orange’s success on defense, leading to a second half that Syracuse never led in.

That’s when the Orange’s weaknesses down low and foul trouble started to catch up with them, after Miles took off and Brunelle continued to fire from all around the court. Hyman did continue to dominate, routinely driving to the basket for contested layups, jump shots and floaters, but Syracuse tired out. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Styles stood at the corner with her hands on her hips, needing to take a play off.

Read said last week that he wasn’t worried about tiring out his starting five, all of whom average more than 25 minutes per game. But the full-court press that disrupted Notre Dame was virtually nonexistent down the stretch, and the Irish continuously sliced up Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, stretching a once-close game into a statistical blowout, and the Orange’s sixth straight loss.

“(Notre Dame’s) depth just kind of wore us out tonight,” Read said.

Published on January 27, 2022 at 7:57 pm

Contact Anthony: [email protected] | @anthonyalandt