LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman knew Siena was not a season-opener he could write-off.

The Saints’ head coach, Gina Castelli was Hillsman’s first boss. She knew his tendencies, his players and his attitude. And with 7:53 remaining in the first half, Hillsman and the rest of the Orange saw a scoreboard indicating just that. The Orange trailed 29-20 and was in need of a change.

‘Well, one thing about (this game), I told our players it was going to be a battle,’ Hillsman said. ‘I coached with (Castelli) for two years … she did a great job of attacking our wings and our zone. She got open shots for her shooters, and like I told (my team) in our scouting report, she’s a great coach, and she finds a way to stay in game.’

Hillsman and the Orange ended up surviving the battle. The Orange came out with a strong second half and bested Siena, 89-75, in the team’s first game of the season Friday at Siena.

Allie Lindemann, junior guard for Siena, almost spoiled SU’s highly anticipated opener. In the face of a quick 2-3 zone fronted by Syracuse, Lindemann went 5-of-8 from beyond the three, scoring 17 first-half points.

‘Man, I wanted to guard (Lindemann) myself,’ Hillsman said. ‘She was unbelievable, she really shot it well. We didn’t want to overextend our zone, but if we stepped out to the 3-point line, she stepped out to the pro line, and when we stepped out to the pro line, she stepped back to the parking lot.’

Despite shooting better than 40 percent from the field in the first half, Syracuse could not find a way to neutralize the Siena offense. The team surrendered 14 turnovers, allowing the Saints to take the ball and mobilize their systematic half-court offense.

Once in place, the Saints worked the ball down low to their sophomore forward Serena Moore, and back out to the perimeter where Lindemann found space to shoot. The back and forth movement spread out Syracuse’s zone, leaving them vulnerable nearly every time down the court.

But in the face of a daunting first half, the Orange responded in typical fashion by putting Hillsman’s aggressive style into full throttle. After emerging from a timeout, the team had two minutes to finish the half strong and secure momentum for the remainder of the game.

The Orange came out in a full-court press. Following the inbounds pass, senior guard Chandrea Jones jumped in the air, tipping the ball and securing possession. Jones took the ball to the rim and drew the foul. After hitting both free throws, the game was tied at 31.

‘That’s what coach told us to do,’ Jones said. ‘(He said) to get to the basket, and we got to the basket.’

The next possession, the Orange remained in the press, this time with junior guard Juanita Ward coming up with the steal. In one of the game’s most impressive plays, Ward dished the ball to junior forward Nicole Michael, and got the ball back on the give and go.

Ward faked hard to her right and went in strong for the score, giving the team a much needed lead heading into half.

‘Everybody else contributed, and everybody else played well together,’ Ward said. ‘Everybody knows how they play, and everybody looks forward to that role. We win as a team.’

The Orange took the momentum from Ward’s play and put it to work in the second half, outscoring the Saints 53-41 in the second half en route to victory.

A more patient and opportunistic defense held Siena’s long-range threat Lindemann to only three points in the second half, buying time for the Orange’s offense to find its groove.

Although Hillsman and his team did suffer a slight scare from the Saints Friday, he said he was happy with the team’s overall performance, as the goal was to win above all.

‘It was our first game and your first game, your goal is to win it because you never know how you’re going to come out,’ Hillsman said. ‘I’m not going to make a rash statement about what we did. Our expectation is on top of the board and on bottom of the board, and it says win.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on November 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm