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GREENSBORO, N.C. — After defeating Boston College in a second-round matchup on Thursday, Syracuse played Florida State for the second time this season. The first time SU played the Seminoles, Florida State defeated the Orange 67-52 in Tallahassee, holding Syracuse to its second-lowest scoring output of the season. 

Syracuse finished with more turnovers than field goals in that Feb. 11 game, as freshman Kamilla Cardoso led Syracuse with 14 points and Tiana Mangakahia finished with eight turnovers. Mangakahia on Friday missed her second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference tournament game with a lower body injury.

Without Mangakahia, there was increased pressure once again on fellow redshirt senior guard Kiara Lewis, who started slowly, shooting just 1-of-6 from the field. Syracuse struggled to score in the first half, finishing with 27 points. But in the second half, Cardoso scored a buzzer-beating putback to down Florida State 68-67 after SU hadn’t led the whole game.

Syracuse scoring struggles

In the first half, Syracuse struggled to score against one of the better defenses in the ACC. Digna Strautmane, Lewis and Amaya Finklea-Guity all led SU with six points in the first 20 minutes. But as a team, Syracuse shot just 38.3% from the field and 6-for-27 from behind the arc.

In the first quarter, Syracuse struggled just to locate the rim. With Florida State leading 11-4, SU had a fast break opportunity. As forward Emily Engstler leaked out in transition, she caught a pass ahead of the recovering defense. As she dribbled near the right wing, Engstler halted and pulled-up from 3. With Syracuse trailing early, Engstler’s shot missed the rim, trailing off to the right side of the basket. After the air ball, Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman raised his hands, cocked his head back and looked to the ceiling.

Then a couple of possessions later, Lewis dribbled near the top of the key as post Finklea-Guity set a screen. Lewis cut left, past her defender, and pulled-up from a midrange shot. As her defender caught up after disentangling from Finklea-Guity, she ran into Lewis. But like Engstler’s, Lewis’ shot was an airball, and no foul was called. 

Syracuse’s rotation thins further with injury

With 2:51 left in the second quarter, Florida State’s Kourtney Weber had a lane to the basket. As she drove to the left side of the hoop, SU freshman Priscilla Williams slid in front of Weber to cut off her path. FSU’s guard barreled into Williams, drawing a blocking foul.

Williams crashed to her side, grabbing the right side of her head. While talking to a Syracuse trainer and Hillsman, Williams continued to lie on the hardwood underneath the basket for over 10 minutes. Eventually, ACC’s medical staff brought out a stretcher and wheeled Williams off the floor. 

While Williams’ status is unknown, a shorthanded Syracuse squad played the second half, with just six players in the rotation. Late in the second quarter, Hillsman was forced to play three starters, despite all of them having two fouls. 

Lewis, Engstler and Strautmane all played 40 minutes in SU’s first game against Boston College on Thursday. 

But with just six players  in the rotation, Syracuse largely avoided foul trouble in the second half, with no players finishing with more than three fouls.

Increased scoring pressure

Without Mangakahia, Lewis and Cardoso were forced to lead SU’s scoring. In the first quarter, Syracuse immediately began attacking Florida State’s interior defense with lobs to Cardoso. On the first possession after winning the opening tip-off, Syracuse immediately passed to the low-right block, to Cardoso. She caught the pass and turned toward the basket. As she began her shooting motion, the ref blew the whistle, motioning for a travel.

But in the second half, Cardoso began to score off of offensive rebounds. When she didn’t hit a bank shot, the 6-foot-7 freshman was often fouled. Eventually, Cardoso finished with 10 offensive rebounds and 16 points — including the game-winning rebound and putback.

After scoring 29 and 21 points respectively the last two games, Lewis finished with 12 points on 3-for-13 shooting. Rather than settling for 3s, Lewis often used screens and relied on her slashing ability to attack the rim. That generally led to layups or shots on the foul line, where the guard made all six foul shots. 

With Syracuse trailing by 13 in the third quarter, Lewis used a screen to coast past her defender. As Florida State post River Baldwin slid to her left to cut off Lewis’ path, the redshirt senior simply changed her direction. Without slowing her stride, Lewis glided past Baldwin, smoothly laying the ball off the glass to cut into FSU’s lead. 

Eventually, Cardoso sealed Syracuse’s last-millisecond, come-from-behind victory on a missed 3 from Lewis at the buzzer, advancing to the semifinal round against Louisville on Saturday.

Published on March 5, 2021 at 4:57 pm

Contact Thomas: tgshults@syr.edu | @ThomasShults_