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Throughout its string of blowout wins since a 0-3 run at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, SU had consistently entered halftime with a significant lead. As opposed to its stint in the Bahamas, Syracuse has now managed a consistent four quarters of basketball, which was, according to acting head coach Vonn Read, absent in each of the team’s losses.

While the Orange were inordinately outrebounding UMBC throughout the game, they were also unusually inconsistent shooting the ball, finishing the game shooting a below-average 34.6% from beyond the arc. Still, Syracuse managed to ease past one of the worst offenses in the country in UMBC by a 32-point margin.

Despite the 3-point inconsistencies, Syracuse (8-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) cruised to a 82-50 nonconference win over UMBC (1-9) on Saturday, extending its winning streak to six games. Each of Syracuse’s five starters recorded double-digit points. Chrislyn Carr led all SU players with 18 points.

After shooting just 1-for-9 from beyond the arc in the first quarter against Clemson, Syracuse made four on as many attempts to start against UMBC. The Orange entered the game with the nation’s 34th-best 3-point percentage (36.3), while UMBC has yet to surpass nine made 3s in a single game.

Syracuse took advantage of that, attempting five 3s within the first three minutes. Christianna Carr struck first within the opening minute, hitting a 3-pointer that was worked around the right wing by Najé Murray. But the Orange then missed their next four attempts, three of them by Murray.

Still, UMBC hadn’t recorded a single point and committed four turnovers during that span, giving Syracuse plenty of opportunities to score. Four minutes into the game, Chrislyn had the ball on the right side of the arc, standing next to Alaysia Styles while Teisha Hyman replaced Styles inside the paint. The ball worked around the perimeter of the arc, and Styles cycled back below the hoop while Chrislyn went to the top of the arc. Hyman found Chrislyn wide-open to give Syracuse a 10-0 lead as she sank Syracuse’s second 3 of the game.

“You’ve got Alaysia driving from the wing, Teisha driving, Teisha hitting 3s,” Murray said. “It’s a really difficult offense to guard because you don’t know what we’re going to do. We just play; we play off each other. We kind of do our own thing. We kind of feed off each other.”

Read implemented a 5-out offense that allowed for players to move freely around the arc. The system is so unpredictable that even his players don’t even know where they’re moving, Read said. But with a guard-heavy offense, Syracuse has had to rely on its versatility of moving in and out of the paint.

Syracuse’s 16-point lead heading into the second quarter proved to be key as the game progressed. Both teams were inconsistent from the field, going on simultaneous runs of missed field goal attempts. It took UMBC nearly five minutes to score its first points, but it was the fuel the Retrievers needed to kick-start their offense.

UMBC followed its first basket up with three 2-pointers in a row, occurring in the same 83-second span that Syracuse made four consecutive field goals of its own. SU displayed its shot variety that it has perfected since its winless run in Atlantis.

Styles hit a mid-range jumper after faking a pass to Christianna on her right. Murray drove into the paint on a quick pass from Chrislyn to bank in a layup. And to cap off the run, Hyman hit a 3-pointer to give Syracuse a 21-10 lead.

“We were trying to get multiple cutters in and out of the high post so we could dump it down,” Read said. “All of our players can make plays when they catch it in there. And then we got shooters if we want to collapse, we can kick it out if we want to make 3s.”

A similar string of scoring occurred in the second quarter, despite a slow start for Syracuse. Styles and Chrislyn committed personal fouls, and Murray conceded a turnover in the Orange’s defensive zone. But SU lucked out as UMBC only scored one field goal before Syracuse scored one of its own — Hyman scored a 3-pointer after two missed attempts from close range by Styles and Nyah Wilson. Wilson collected her own rebound and at the top of the arc found Alaina Rice, who dished it to her left for Hyman to hit from deep.

“Alaina brings a lot of energy off the bench,” Read said. “She’s an excellent passer, especially for how hard she drives the ball into the paint. Her vision to be able to see the types of players really impresses me and has always impressed me.”

UMBC began pressing Syracuse’s shooters in the second half, which gave the Orange less time than they had been used to when setting up for long shots. That pressure paid off for the Retrievers, as they held the Orange to just four 3-pointers and a 40% success rate from the field after shooting 51.6% in the first half.

Late in the game, Syracuse was once again scoring and missing in respective batches. Eight of SU’s 19 fourth quarter points came during a 94-second span when the Orange scored four layups. Just like the first quarter, SU managed to hold UMBC to 10 points and saw its on-and-off 20-point lead improve to 32.

“We’ve really been preaching ‘share the ball,’ and I think our girls see that when they move the ball,” Read said. “You give us wide-open shots, and we’re going to make them.”

Published on December 18, 2021 at 1:11 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu