To Nicole Michael, there was no problem with the defense.

The junior forward on the Syracuse women’s basketball team said the Orange’s defensive plan for the last possession against Pittsburgh Saturday was the right call. She credited Pittsburgh coaches for drawing up the play that ended with a Xenia Stewart jumper with 0.4 seconds left to send the Orange to its third straight loss.

Stewart’s shot was contested, although there was enough separation provided to get the shot off. And when the shot went through the bottom of the net it served as a microcosm of the Orange’s defensive struggles during the last three games. The Orange thinks it is executing on defense, but opponents are finding a way to convert their shots.

Opponents’ shooting percentages and points per game have risen during the Orange’s three-game losing streak. Syracuse will look to contain Marquette tonight when it travels to Milwaukee for an 8 p.m. tip. Syracuse (13-6, 2-4 Big East) ranks 12th in the Big East in field goal percentage defense, and is last in scoring defense at 64.7 points per contest.

‘We never want to think back because you take those losses and get better from them,’ Michael said. ‘I feel like if we get better on defense and defending the ball we’re going to win. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, so we have to work harder and play good defense.’

SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said his team is contesting shots and said he cannot think of 10 times over the past three games (excluding a 54-point loss to Connecticut on Jan. 17) where the opponent has had open looks.

The shots may be contested, but they are certainly falling at a large rate. Syracuse on the season is letting opponents shoot .384 from the field, but those numbers have dramatically risen in its past three contest. SU has given up an average of 84.6 points during those games, while letting opponents shoot 49.7 percent.

In their 70-66 win over Syracuse, the Pirates shot 52 percent from the field while scoring their season average of 70 points.

In the loss to Connecticut, Syracuse allowed the Huskies to shoot 52.1 percent from the field while scoring 19.6 more points than their season average. And in Saturday’s buzzer-beating loss to the Panthers, Pittsburgh shot 45.2 percent from the field.

While the statistics say one thing, Hillsman sticks by his defense. The Orange did, however, hold Connecticut below its season shooting average and only let Pittsburgh shoot close to two percent above its average.

‘I think people are just making shots,’ Hillsman said. ‘We’re there, we’re contesting them and you contest shots and they make shots. There’s not much more you can do except block them, so you force them into contested shots. I’ll be happy with that.’

Hillsman said his team has sped the game up and that has led to more opportunities for the opponent down the floor. He said he wants opposing teams to come down the court and take quick shots, and then for the Orange to grab the subsequent rebound and go toward the basket.

Grabbing the rebound, though, has been a problem that has led to some defensive struggles. In its last two games, SU has been outrebounded, 92-65. Against UConn, Syracuse had 19 defensive boards, while the Huskies had 17 offensive rebounds. In the loss to Pitt, the Panthers had more offensive rebounds (20) than Syracuse had defensive rebounds.

This leads to creating second-chance opportunities for the opponent, and with the recent high shooting percentages, the opponents are connecting. Hillsman said a team cannot contest a first shot well and then allow the opponents to get the board. Connecticut had 31 second-chance points against the Orange.

‘Getting offensive boards and defensive boards, it definitely helps teams’ shooting percentages because you’re scoring buckets in the paint, which is the easiest area on the court to score,’ sophomore guard Erica Morrow said. ‘We just got to get back to our old ways and rebounding the ball and being tenacious on the boards, and I think we’ll be alright.’

The Orange will certainly have a chance to do such against Marquette (12-7, 3-2). The Golden Eagles average only 69.7 points per game (less than Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Seton Hall), and convert on 41.8 percent of shots.

But it all starts with the defense. And if the last-ranked defensive team in the Big East wants to avoid quietly falling out of the post-season discussion, it needs to start the turnaround now.

‘Coach gameplans us very well and the defense that he wants us to run is very good so I feel like we make mistakes in our defense,’ Michael said. ‘But we have to fix that in practice and work harder so we work harder and we’ll get it done.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on January 26, 2009 at 12:00 pm