Brittney Sykes moved into the paint five seconds too late. Hildur Björg Kjartansdóttir already grabbed the offensive rebound with the middle wide open and scored a layup.

Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman called to Sykes, signaling that someone should have taken that space away. Sykes bent her arms, looking confused as she spun her head around to see none of her teammates nearby. They were on the edges of the court.

But on the Orange’s next possession, Maggie Morrison missed a 3 and Sykes was the one to grab the rebound.

“We knew when we were going over (the scouting report) that our opponent, they didn’t really box out,” Sykes said. “… We can box them out and then they can’t jump us. So I knew right off the bat, just go in, go for the ball head first and just have a nose for it.”

SU (10-3) won its final nonconference game, 91-32, against Texas Rio Grande Valley (8-7) on Friday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. Sykes, the Orange’s starting shooting guard, finished with eight points and eight rebounds, her third most of the season, in just 19 minutes and completed another well-rounded, but not dominant performance.

After missing all but three games last season due to two torn ACLs, Hillsman said Sykes is playing freer than in the past. Her statistics aren’t as impressive as they were in her freshman or sophomore seasons. She hasn’t played like the potent scorer she used to be. But her performances are more balanced than before.

“She used to strictly just drive the ball,” senior guard Brianna Butler said. “Now she can develop and shoot the 3. She can do a pull-up and I think that just adds to her game and makes it harder for a defender to defend her.”

Sykes played SU’s second-most minutes against UTRGV. She tied for the second-most rebounds, six of which were offensive, and also added five assists and three steals.

Less than a minute into the game, Kjartansdóttir dribbled into the lane after beating Syracuse’s press. But Sykes sprinted from the frontcourt and tracked her down. She snuck behind her, poking the ball up and toward Alexis Peterson, who caught it and pushed the opposite way.

Seventy seconds later, Sykes grabbed a defensive rebound off a deep missed 2-pointer by Rickell Preston. No Vaqueros players even moved toward the basket when the shot went up, but Sykes still snagged it over Peterson, forward Isabella Slim and center Briana Day.

“I think she understands she doesn’t need to score 20-25 points for us to win the basketball game or to have a good game herself,” Hillsman said, “and she’s done a very good job for us across the board.”

Texas Rio Grande Valley called a timeout 3:36 into the game trailing 14-0. Sykes recorded a steal two seconds after play resumed. She went coast-to-coast, drawing a foul and hitting both her foul shots. On the Vaqueros’ next possession, Sykes forced another turnover and finished a layup.

Like her old self, she was able to get into the paint. But to be successful, she doesn’t have to.

Sykes worked “like crazy” on her jump shot while recovering, according to Hillsman. She went 2-for-6 from the field against the Vaqueros, but her shots were sprinkled across the court.

“(Hillsman) gives me the ability if I want to take it to the midrange, I can take it,” Sykes said. “I don’t have to drive to the basket all the time and save my body, save my knees from the body-to-body contact.”

On a team that often plays four guards at once, Sykes doesn’t need to be the one to drive and kick. Her shooting percentage is just 31.8, but she’s taking more lower-percentage shots. Not only does it take advantage of her improved jump shot, but she can avoid unnecessary contact.

“I think she understands the game more,” Hillsman said.

Sykes’ game is evolving and for one last time in nonconference play, it continued on Friday.

Published on January 1, 2016 at 4:09 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds