Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

The first time Syracuse played a Big Ten opponent this year, the Orange coughed up a huge double-digit lead that lasted up until the midpoint of the third quarter. A fourth quarter collapse led to its first loss of the season, falling to Penn State 82-69.

This time around, SU fell behind early but weathered a large second half deficit of almost 20 points to pull within five with about five minutes remaining. However, the Orange fell just short of completing a comeback over the Boilermakers, falling 87-78.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s second loss of the season:

Teisha Hyman proves she’s interchangeable with Dyaisha Fair

After six games this season, people were praising Teisha Hyman’s ability to take a backseat to starting point guard Dyaisha Fair. Comfortable with the ball primarily in her hands, Fair leads the Orange with 19 points per game and has been the focal point of Syracuse’s offense thus far. But as of late, Hyman has proved her streaky shooting and flashy moves can help her team move forward just as Fair does. She showed that in today’s matchup with Purdue.

Down early, and off a busted play, Fair gave the ball up to Teisha Hyman who crossed the ball over twice before rising up for a jumper. Her attempt rattled around the rim before dropping for Hyman’s tenth point of the game. Soon after, she caught the ball on the right wing and fired without any hesitation, canning a three-pointer.

Trailing 51-34 to start the third quarter, Hyman jumped the passing lanes to intercept an errant Purdue transition attempt and swung the ball across the timeline to Fair. Hyman’s steal awarded Syracuse a three-on-two fast break and Fair teased a wide-open three before passing to Hyman at the top of the key. Hyman dribbled once, then pulled up from behind the free throw line and sunk it.

Down by just 10 points with a little under seven minutes to play in the final quarter, Hyman hesitated on the fast break and went at her defender hard. Flying toward the left side of the basket, Hyman was hacked as she put up a layup. Her shot fell for two as the referees whistled for a foul, setting up a potential three-point play as Syracuse narrowed the deficit to just eight.

Hyman was the only bright spot for Syracuse offensively, finishing the night with 26 points to lead her team in scoring.

Syracuse plays too much one-on-one

So far this season, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack has praised her team’s ability to score in bunches on the fast break, encouraging a fast-paced brand of basketball. But it seems that when Syracuse matches up against more disciplined opponents, the Orange are forced to set up in a half-court offense.

Ordinarily, Syracuse loves to pass the ball around the perimeter, setting a couple off-ball screens to get their bigs and shooters open. But when no open looks come out of these sets, the Orange resort to either Hyman or Fair, standing still as the two backcourt players go to work.

After the first half in Lafayette, Fair had just one point as Purdue’s decision to game-plan around her paid dividends.

At times, Syracuse’s isolation would pay off. Fair forced herself through the trees of the Purdue defense with 1:12 left in the third quarter and sent a right-handed bank shot in for her first field goal of the contest. Just a few plays prior, Asia Strong strung together a slew of crossovers before driving right and laying the ball up and over her immediate defender. Both of these buckets were pretty and successful, but they happened only a handful of times.

There’s a clear gap between Syracuse and the teams at the top

There’s no doubt that Syracuse has plenty of talent.

Equipped with one of the best backcourt tandems in the nation and a strong frontcourt presence in Strong and Dariauna Lewis, there’s a reason why the Orange have jumped out to a 5-1 start prior to playing the Boilermakers.

However, a team largely made up of transfers and freshmen hasn’t had the time to properly gel and create chemistry. Matched up against this Purdue team, SU miscommunicated on the defensive end, allowing easy baskets inside for its opponent. The Boilermakers also executed their set plays better. Experience showed through Purdue spreading the floor and allowing their point guard, Jeanae Terry, to find her teammates efficiently.

Down by nearly 20 points, Hyman stole the ball and pushed ahead, running the floor with Cheyenne McEvans beside her. With only one defender in front of the both of them, Hyman passed the ball to McEvans who went up for a layup. However, the discipline of Terry to keep her eyes on the ball, and strip McEvans cleanly, showed a stark difference between the two sides and their composure around the basket.

Toward the end of the game, Syracuse went on a 16-3 scoring run and got as close as 5 points. However, with around three-and-a-half minutes left, Hyman came up the floor and handed the ball off to Lewis. 0-for-1 in the game so far, Lewis pulled up from three without hesitation and saw her attempt clank against the back of the rim and out with Purdue pulling down the rebound.

Strong, who had hit four from range up until this point, teased her defender in the left corner a few plays later. Stepping back, she hoisted an impossible shot which missed everything. Although the airball fell into Syracuse’s hands, the Orange were unable to capitalize on the extra offensive possession.

Poor decision-making shown by Strong and Lewis possibly cost Syracuse the game. After both misses, the Boilermakers went down the other end of the court to hit back-to-back 3-point plays.

Syracuse’s depth struggle to make any real impact

Throughout tonight’s game, Legette-Jack rotated through a good number of players. Kyra Wood, Saniaa Wilson, Alaina Rice, and McEvans all enjoyed proper minutes on the hardwood. The only problem was, the bench failed to contribute any real production on either ends of the floor. Both freshmen for Syracuse did not see any game time.

The four players combined for a total of 31 minutes but only mustered a joint three points, all of which came from McEvans.

The substitutes looked like they had no real leadership unless Hyman or Fair were on the court. Without the dynamic backcourt, McEvans did her best to try and get her team into a set play but during those periods of play, Syracuse looked flustered and unnerved.

Published on November 30, 2022 at 8:30 pm

Contact Tyler: trschiff@syr.edu | @theTylerSchiff