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Chrislyn Carr was dropping in layups against Monmouth as if she was told to stand under the hoop. During a 30-second span in the second quarter, specifically, she notched two layups from underneath the right side of the basket.

After an Alaysia Styles turnover at center court, Chrislyn, who at the time of Styles’ steal was right next to her, darted to the hoop and dropped in an easy uncontested layup. As Monmouth’s Antonia Panayides attempted her own layup 30 seconds later, SU’s Jayla Thornton pushed it out of her right hand and launched a full-court pass timed perfectly for Chrislyn, who once again was in the same spot for another layup.

Chrislyn’s speed suited her well all game, and she notched a team-high 15 points — 10 coming from layups — that complemented Syracuse’s high turnover rate and quick transition offense.

“Sometimes when we get long rebounds, instead of coming back to the ball, we just tell (Chrislyn) to go to the rim,” acting head coach Vonn Read said postgame. “There’s nobody that’s going to catch her.”

Chrislyn led Syracuse (1-0) in its 87-46 win over Monmouth (0-1). The Orange relied on their quick play and transition game, scoring 42 points off turnovers, and shot 52.9% from the field, giving Read his first win in charge of the program.

Although Syracuse’s speed left it almost untouched within the paint, beyond the arc it showed promising glimpses of its 3-point shooting abilities. Led by Thornton and Christianna Carr — the best 3-point shooter in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference history — the Orange shot 36.4% from beyond the arc on 20 attempts.

Thornton went 2-for-3, tied with Eboni Walker for the team lead. Both of Thornton’s 3’s came within a 35-second span in the second quarter, and both times she was wide-open.

“That’s how we have to play, that’s how we want to play,” Read said. “I thought our young players did an excellent job of executing that. We have to play fast, we’re not big inside but we definitely can get up and down the court. Our post players run like guards.”

Syracuse was generally able to generate long- and mid-range shooting opportunities with little to no pressure. The opportunities came mostly off quick passing sequences, with the Orange using their speed to generate successful pick-and-roll possessions, which is what they did on Thornton’s back-to-back 3’s.

On one drive it was Najé Murray who drove into the paint, swarmed by two Monmouth defenders. Murray quickly pivoted to her left, finding an unmarked Thornton, who sank the 3-pointer to establish a 21-point lead heading into halftime.

“Jayla really impressed me,” Read said. “She’s a shooter, she’s a scorer and that’s what she did at Howard. She’s come right in and she played pretty well today.”

Syracuse was able to open up the game offensively, but it cost SU at times defensively. The Orange ran a zone defense, but oftentimes Monmouth strung together quick passing sequences in and around the paint. SU was left exposed and Monmouth was often given easy close-range shots.

On one play in the opening quarter, Hawks guard Stella Clark dribbled into Syracuse’s half before pivoting at the top right of the arc as an Orange defender rushed her. But Clark had Jania Hall wide-open right in front of her inside the arc, and Clark lobbed the ball over her defender, allowing Hall to comfortably slot home a layup as Styles and Christianna were caught too far inside the paint.

The game’s wide-open play served the Orange well offensively, though, serving as the forefront for their transition game. At first, it was almost too wide-open for Syracuse, as SU conceded three turnovers and a foul before even scoring its first point. It took the Orange nearly seven minutes to score their first mid-range shot of the game, and they scored just three field goals in the opening quarter.

But that quarter was the only one where Syracuse got outrebounded. As the Orange won their battles below the basket, their transition game improved and they were slowly able to tire out the Monmouth defense.

At the beginning of the third quarter, SU’s Teisha Hyman earned the team’s second offensive rebound within the quarter’s opening three minutes. Hyman then cycled the ball outside the paint, which allowed Christianna to cycle inward toward the basket. With an overhead pass, Hyman launched the ball over the screening Monmouth defender, perfectly finding Christianna, who put away the close-range, diving layup.

Syracuse outrebounded Monmouth 42-35, even without 6-foot-2 guard Priscilla Williams, who is recovering from an injury. Inside play is an area of the game that will be challenged Sunday when Notre Dame visits the Carrier Dome. The Fighting Irish allowed just 739 rebounds last season, the fifth-lowest mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“They’re an aggressive team,” Chrislyn said. “(Rebounding) is just something we have to do and it’s something we have to work on. It’s about just trusting our system.”

Published on November 10, 2021 at 9:26 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu