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When Elena Tsineke weaved through Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, exploiting the holes Syracuse created, it was the beginning of the end for Syracuse. She ended the maneuvering by getting a close-range floater to fall. Control of the game was changing hands as Syracuse began getting oversized down low and fast-break points from the Orange became rare. Later on, Bethy Mununga exploited Alaysia Styles’ three fouls by bodying her up underneath the basket to get a rebound and an uncontested putback shot. 

Syracuse started Saturday’s game hot, firing on all cylinders. From its nine points in transition to Najé Murray leading all scorers with nine first-quarter points, SU ended the opening frame ahead of No. 23 USF. But the Orange didn’t tire out the Bulls like they did Monmouth and Morgan State. Instead, Syracuse (2-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) faded away from contention, handcuffed by foul trouble and plagued again by a lack of size from its forwards in a 77-53 loss to USF (3-1).

“The one thing we struggled with defensively was guarding penetration, which opened up the boards a little bit,” acting head coach Vonn Read said. “They were beating us off the bounce a little bit. Then we were rotating and they beat us on the back side.”

Syracuse didn’t pass its first test of the season at the beginning of the week against Notre Dame. Its second test on Saturday mirrored that loss: a close game out of the gate that slowly divulged into a blowout against the Orange. Both times, Read said a factor of their opponent’s play took away SU’s ability to create a successful transition offense. While Sunday was the Fighting Irish’s lights-out shooting, USF’s rebounding domination limited Syracuse.

Chrislyn Carr mentioned after Sunday’s loss that the team is still adjusting to a new environment, noting that no one on the team had ever played in a place like the Carrier Dome. But on Saturday, they kicked off play in the first-ever women’s edition of the Battle 4 Atlantis. And in the second quarter, it showed that Syracuse struggled to adjust to another new environment. After a stellar shooting performance and masterclass of transition offense in the first quarter, Syracuse’s shooting fell off. 

The Orange looked dynamic, shooting above 40% from the field and building their offense off transition play. But then the shots stopped falling, and Syracuse rarely found itself in transition. With a fast-paced squad, that press is what Read needs from his team to hang with superior opponents. Teisha Hyman and fifth-year senior Murray said they’ve built up chemistry on the press, the first signs of a team that met mere months ago coming together. 

USF’s continued penetration of Syracuse’s zone halted that chemistry. The Bulls immediately chewed through the 2-3 zone. As Syracuse began easing into Saturday’s game, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu snuck behind the zone, collected a feed from the outer arc and overpowered SU’s forwards for an easy layup. At halftime, South Florida head coach Jose Fernandez said his team needed to take better shots in transition. But even when 3s from Elisa Pinzan or Sydni Harvey didn’t fall, USF overpowered Syracuse under the hoop.

On two straight possessions in the second quarter, Mununga boxed out Styles and Christianna Carr, allowing her to grab a missed shot and easily find success on the putback attempt. By the end of the first half, Syracuse was losing the rebounding battle 27-18, and while Syracuse could only notch one offensive board, USF extended possessions with 10.

“When you attack zones, it’s tougher to block out because you’re blocking out guys in areas,” Fernandez said. “We really assaulted the glass.”

Early foul trouble might’ve forced a timid approach down low for the Orange. They drew 11 fouls in the first half, including three from Styles and two from Christianna and Hyman — all of whom top the charts for rebounds for Syracuse. Two early fouls for Hyman led to Read pulling her from the game. “Being Teisha,” as Read described Hyman after her performance on Wednesday, couldn’t happen against USF — she couldn’t lead the team in scoring or pull-down rebounds as she has done in the previous games.

Syracuse rebounded slightly from its dismal second quarter in the second half. Hyman rekindled her hot shooting from midrange, pulling up twice in the opening minute to knock down consecutive shots. Christianna briefly found her stride from deep, and after nailing one three-pointer in the first half, she buried two straight 3-pointers to keep Syracuse’s deficit in single digits.

But then USF’s Tsineke swished through a wide-open three-pointer to begin a shootout between Christianna and the Bulls. Syracuse held its own for a few possessions to ensure USF didn’t run away. But like in the second quarter, SU’s shots stopped falling. A miss from Christianna and an airball by Jayla Thornton gave South Florida a commanding hold on Saturday’s game.

“The fouling and the offensive rebound was what was going to hurt us,” Christianna said. “Those are things that we control ourselves.”

Murray said after Wednesday’s win that, at this point in her career, she’s just looking to take the shots that make sense. She pointed out that she was eyeing her 1,000th collegiate point before the season. In the opening minutes of Saturday’s game, Murray showcased her quick-shot ability, one that harnesses a catch-and-shoot approach which led to nine points in the first quarter. Then she went cold along with the rest of Syracuse’s shooting. 

In the second quarter, Syracuse scored just eight points, allowing USF to storm back into control of Saturday’s game. SU struggled shooting out of the gate, only finding success in open transition opportunities and quick feeds down low to Styles. After beginning with a contested 3 from Chrislyn two and a half minutes into the first quarter, Syracuse found its rhythm that it maintained throughout the first quarter but quickly lost it in the second.

By the final minutes of the third quarter and the majority of the fourth quarter, Syracuse was forced to reach into its bench, while USF chose to play backups, eyeing No. 2 UConn on Sunday. The Orange stopped recording assists and couldn’t find the bottom of the basket as USF extended its lead to more than 20. By USF’s final steal, Read just looked for players to get minutes and at the next game against Minnesota, the next opportunity to continue to build chemistry.

“They nullified our transition offense with the offensive rebounds,” Read said. “You don’t get the defensive rebounds, you can’t run. So they did a good job of going to the offensive glass.”

Published on November 20, 2021 at 4:32 pm

Contact Anthony: [email protected] | @anthonyalandt