Shavonte Zellous knew what was coming. Emerging from a timeout with the score tied and eight seconds remaining in the game, Pittsburgh’s star guard felt two Syracuse defenders hounding her the second she touched the ball.

‘I kind of figured Syracuse was going to double me,’ Zellous said. ‘Coming onto the court I saw one person (on my left) and one person (on my right).’

But Syracuse’s plan to shut down the nation’s second-leading scorer backfired. Using two defenders on Zellous allowed senior guard Xenia Stewart to roll into open space, receive a pass from Zellous and drill a jumper.

In a game that saw the Orange exhaust every option to stop No.25 Pittsburgh, there was nothing left to do. With just 0.4 seconds remaining, sophomore guard Tasha Harris took one dribble and hurled the basketball down the court in frustration.

Stewart’s jumper propelled Pittsburgh (14-4, 4-2 Big East) to a 75-77 victory over Syracuse (13-6, 2-4 Big East) Saturday at the Carrier Dome in front of 1,647 fans. The loss is Syracuse’s third straight.

‘This has been a very tough week for myself and my kids,’ head coach Quentin Hillsman said. I think anyone at that game that can say we gave a lot of effort and played as hard as we could.’

Although Hillsman’s arsenal of schemes ultimately ended up in failure, it also kept his team afloat for most of the game.

For starters, Hillsman repeatedly targeted the hot hand of senior guard Chandrea Jones, who scored a game-high 23 points, all the way to the team’s last offensive possession.

With 20 seconds left and the Orange trailing by 2 points, Jones drove the lane, beating Pittsburgh’s Chelsea Cole to the basket and scoring a clutch jump-shot, leaving the Panthers with the ball and those eight seconds.

Hillsman orchestrated another plan he thought would beat Pittsburgh – an array of press defenses.

Throughout the game, the Orange came out in full-court and half-court pressure defenses, forcing 21 turnovers while providing Syracuse with 20 points.

In the first half, after battling back from an early deficit that grew as large as 10 points, the Orange came to within one point. Using the quick pressure defense, junior forward Juanita Ward stripped a Pittsburgh player under its basket and swung the ball upcourt to Jones, who finished strong. The score gave Syracuse the lead, the first time it was ahead in three games.

‘We we’re very aware of (Syracuse’s press)’ Pittsburgh head coach Agnus Berenato said. ‘We knew they did full-court (press) half-court, and the run and jump and I thought they executed it, they did a great job.’

But having seen two press-heavy defenses in its last two games (South Florida and Seton Hall) allowed Pittsburgh to get its footing quickly, eventually finding a way through the pressure defense. The Orange only mustered three steals in the second-half compared to five in the first, while its points-off-turnovers decreased as well – another plan of attack had been foiled.

And finally, with the last scheme on the table, Hillsman watched in disbelief as Stewart’s jumper vanquished another plan, another angle to stop Pittsburgh.

Following the game, a somber Hillsman was all out of ideas. In muffled tones, the coach tried his best to get through his statement and face the reality of a three-game skid. A losing streak that has seen his team upset, humiliated and shrouded in controversy. He left without taking questions.

‘Obviously this has been a tough week for us, and I’m not going to act like it wasn’t,’ Hillsman said. ‘It’s tough to stand up here today because our kids got beat up all week. Obviously there was a lot of distractions.’

The road for Hillsman and the Orange won’t get any easier either. Up ahead the team will take on two more Big East opponents with winning records in Marquette and Villanova, both who rank ahead of the Orange in the Big East standings.

‘(We) just don’t give up,’ junior forward Nicole Michael said. ‘We have a lot more games to go. Like Chandrea (Jones) said, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Just don’t give up and keep playing hard.’

The team is also left with a mental obstacle to overcome in the nearing weeks, a need to prevail over what has happened in the past in order to salvage a fading season.

‘My heart is heavy for my kids,’ Hillsman said. ‘It really hurts.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on January 23, 2009 at 12:00 pm