Eventually, the shots had to start falling. The way Syracuse had been shooting, missing shot after shot from the outside while opponents packed the paint to negate the Orange’s presence at the rim, losses were sure to pile up quickly.

The Orange finally found its rhythm against Ohio on Tuesday and the shots just kept falling en route to a victory.

‘I think we just put up good 3s. We didn’t go out there and shoot 20-plus 3s,’ SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘Our game is playing at the rim, playing in the paint. …We did a very good job of not taking bad 3s.’

The 81-70 win over Ohio (6-7) capped off Syracuse’s (9-4) three-game trip to Las Vegas in the Duel in the Desert. Syracuse went 31-for-61 from the field for 50.8 percent in its best shooting performance of the season to earn its second win at the tournament. Forward Iasia Hemingway finished 11-for-17 from the field for 24 points, while also notching 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas got hot from the outside, shooting 2-for-5 from beyond the arc, and scored 22 points.

As a team, SU went 3-for-11 for 27.3 percent from the perimeter.

But the team’s offense went primarily through its high-low set. And Hemingway thrived in the high post, driving to the basket against the Bobcats defense.

‘They did a really good job of attacking the rim. I thought that Iasia did a very good job in the high post,’ Hillsman said. ‘I thought in the first half, she was struggling a little bit. …She did a good job in the second half.’

After a back-and-forth first half that saw eight ties and six lead changes, SU settled in to an offensive groove in the second half.

The Orange took the lead with just over 19 minutes remaining in the second half and never gave it up. Ohio tried to claw back and cut the score to 64-62 with 7:13 left, but SU went on a decisive 11-2 run that gave it complete control of the game.

Lately, SU has been so one dimensional that teams have used a simple game plan of caving in on center Kayla Alexander down low, leaving plenty of open looks for the Orange’s shooters on the outside. The open space, though, rarely mattered because of the Syracuse’s poor shooting.

Until Tuesday, at least.

And instead of putting all the attention on getting the ball to Alexander or center Shakeya Leary at the rim, Syracuse finally took advantage of Hemingway’s solid shooting from the high post.

‘We just did a good job of getting the ball in the high post in our possessions,’ Hillsman said. ‘They played a lot of zone on us, so we did a good job of getting the ball to the high post. Obviously, when Iasia gets the ball in the high post, she’s a good player.’

Syracuse’s strong offensive showing came one day after getting routed by Oklahoma in an 82-63 loss in which it shot a paltry 27.5 percent.

After his team’s win over the Bobcats, Hillsman wouldn’t necessarily admit to being relieved to finally see a solid shooting performance, but did say when Syracuse plays to its capabilities, it is a much better team. 

‘We just know that we when we take good shots, when we get the ball in the paint and at the rim,’ Hillsman said, ‘we’re a good basketball team.’

cjiseman@syr.edu

Published on December 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman