There was only a minute separating Syracuse from one of its worst losses of the season. With the Orange down 31 points to Florida State, the story of the game had already been told. All that needed to happen was the final moments to tick off the clock.

But what was a waste of a night for SU, was an opportunity for La’Shay Taft.

The seldom-used senior took a pass from Alexis Peterson and swished a 3. Twelve seconds later, it happened again. On FSU’s next possession, she stole the ball and was fouled, and hit both free throws.

In the span of 25 seconds she had scored eight points, ballooning her total to a team-high 18 points.

“It’s always great to pretty much get an opportunity,” Taft said. “You’ve just got to take advantage of when your opportunity comes.”

Opportunities have been limited for Taft this season. After seeing some action in nonconference play, Taft had a stretch where she hit just 4-of-28 shots from behind the arc in Atlantic Coast Conference competition. But the Florida State game last Thursday was her breakout moment, and she followed it up with an efficient 12-point performance in a win over Boston College on Sunday.

And now that Taft is heating up, SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said he plans to give the shooter more minutes when the Orange (18-8, 7-6 ACC) travels to Miami (13-12, 5-7) to face the Hurricanes on Thursday at 7 p.m.

“If you’re a shooter, you’re going to make shots,” Hillsman said. “I don’t get wrapped up into what the percentages are. Because she could have one of those games where she comes out and she makes five of them.”

Brittney Sykes said SU has a saying.

“Shooters shoot.”

And they do it no matter if they’re hot or cold. When Syracuse hosted then-No. 3 Duke on Jan. 9, Taft did just that. She shot, and shot, and shot again. Thirteen times. It wasn’t until the 12th try that she actually got one to count.

It was the worst shooting performance of her Syracuse career and even though Hillsman continued to encourage her to let it fly, that showing relegated her to single-digit minutes in five of the six games following it.

“My game’s pretty much been up and down,” Taft said. “I have moments when pretty much everything is going well, and then sometimes I can’t make a shot.

“But I don’t just give up. I keep on pushing and continue to shoot, what shooters should do — continue to shoot to get back on the floor.”

Sykes told Taft a story when she was struggling. It was about an athlete on the men’s basketball team at Wisconsin, a pure shooter like Taft. He had missed every shot that game, and his teammates were making fun of him for it in the locker room.

He shrugged it off and told them he hadn’t missed any because he didn’t start counting until he had made one. It’s an attitude that Sykes told Taft she needed to adopt.

“Shooters are going to miss shots. But shoot,” Sykes said. “That’s why God has given that talent in shooting. It’s to shoot the ball.”

Taft said she understands that having more scorers is a huge asset to this team. As of now, Skyes and Brianna Butler make up more than 43 percent of the team’s scoring.

“It takes a lot off of Brittney, Bri at the guard position,” Taft said. “It definitely means a lot, because it takes pressure off the ones who do so much already, so it opens up more of our offense.”

Taft has spent the majority of her four years on the bench, rather than on the court. But with the way she’s been shooting of late, this may be her last and best chance to leave a legacy.

Said Taft: “This is it. I’m pretty much done with college, and I’d rather go out on a good note.”

Published on February 20, 2014 at 2:27 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3