North Dakota players started jogging between possessions early in the fourth quarter. Sometimes they passed their own bench, where most players sat silent. Sometimes they passed Syracuse’s bench, where reserves prepped and starters tucked towels around their necks. The deficit plastered on a Carrier Dome scoreboard increased. It reaffirmed what was starting to set in for the visitors: SU never loses on opening day. 2018 was no different.

No. 18 Syracuse’s (1-0) 85-49 blowout win against North Dakota (0-1) marked the 12th straight year in which Orange head coach Quentin Hillsman notched a first-game win. SU steadied after an uneven first quarter and wrestled control after dominating the second and third frames. In the game, SU generated 29 points off of 27 UND turnovers.

The win washed away some of the lingering bitterness of last season’s season-ending 84-57 loss to Oklahoma State, a game Hillsman said he hasn’t rewatched.

“We go to watch that tape and say, ‘What about this year?’ Nothing,” Hillsman said before the game. “(We’re) not going to be the same team. It doesn’t make sense to me. That’s not who we are. It’s not who we’re going to be.”

First-year players Emily Engstler and Kiara Lewis secured the win with dual 13-point performances. Miranda Drummond led the starters with 11 points, four assists and four rebounds. Overall, 10 different Orange racked up double-digit minutes and scored. The 2018-19 campaign is all about moving forward and deeper into March’s NCAA Tournament, Hillsman said. North Dakota represented the first hurdle.

“We really wanted to spread our minutes out and play the way we needed to play to be successful,” Hillsman said after the game. “I thought we did that today.”

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Initially, the Orange stumbled in the first quarter despite knowing the Fighting Hawks’ game plan. Hillsman said UND operated at a “deliberate” pace. Lexi Klabo, UND’s leading scorer a season ago (19 ppg) exposed a gap in SU’s 2-3 zone to earn the visitor’s a 6-0 lead via a baseline jumper.

Hillsman said SU started “sluggish,” missing open shots as the team’s traded half-court possessions. For almost every blown assignment inside the paint for Syracuse, Hillsman turned to his bench, rotating in 11 players. To limit UND, Hillsman turned to the full-court press with 3:09 left in the first quarter. But even when SU created fast-break chances, slight miscues anchored it.

On a fast break opportunity late in the first, Mangakahia tripped while driving the lane. A pass intended for Amaya Finklea-Guity ricocheted off her arms and into a UND forward.
After Mangakahia clanked a free-throw line jumper, Hillsman nearly bumped into an official on the court while gesturing for Mangakahia to pass the ball outside.

Ten minutes into Syracuse’s season, it was tied with a non-Power 5 team weeks after it was picked to finish third in the Atlantic Coast by opposing coaches.

“We weren’t scoring, so we couldn’t press them,” Hillsman said.

The gaps in SU’s zone filled in the second frame as the press locked in. A longer lineup of 6-foot-2 forwards Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi, Digna Strautmane and Kadiatou Sissoko swarmed the paint and turned UND guards away. North Dakota made just nine shots in the second half.

Offensively, Syracuse returned to the 3 and gained separation. Hillsman said earlier this season that the ideal offense would strike a balance between working inside and launching 3s.

Engstler, entering the game as the best-recruit in program history, displayed her potential in bursts. On an SU inbound, she corralled a tipped entry pass, dribbled around three defenders and slung a one-handed pass to Drummond who swished a 3. Lewis connected from behind-the-arc on the next trip down the floor.

White jerseys kept firing. Engstler knocked one down, Lewis hit two more and Drummond capped off Syracuse’s 23-point quarter with a 3 from the wing.

“We got (North Dakota) into some unsettled situations,” Hillsman said. “That was the difference in the game.”

UND started the third quarter with two layups reminiscent of the penetration it benefited from early on. After a quick SU timeout the Orange’s depth played a factor.

Hillsman kept utilizing his bench and soon the Fighting Hawks’ legs tired. In a two-and-a-half-minute stretch, Engstler recorded five points, two boards and an emphatic block of UND’s Bailey Strand that sent the ball into the stands and brought the crowd to its feet.

The defensive press rushed North Dakota. Black and green jerseys sprinted around the court, trying to find open space and not another SU defender. The turnovers piled up and the lead expanded to 15, then 20, then 30.

“It’s one of our go-to’s: pressing, pushing the ball up, find the open player,” Mangakahia said. “With our press, getting stops and easy steals turn into layups.”

Syracuse’s offense thrived under controlled chaos. Mangakahia ran the fast break and dumped passes to cutters. SU’s bench mob quickly lept to its feet, celebrating each and-1 or open 3 pointer with a collective roar.

The fourth quarter followed the blueprint that most of the previous 12 season-opening wins. SU’s reserves worked in and the deficit steadied. Chelayne Bailey, the Orange’s third-string point guard, earned court time.

Hillsman counted down the days to Tuesday’s game on social media. And his team delivered.

The beginning of a season is always filled with potential. Two ranked opponents, Oregon and Texas A&M, await the Orange in the next eight days. They provide an early season barometer for how good SU currently is. But after Tuesday, the hope remained.

Published on November 6, 2018 at 5:14 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez