At Syracuse’s media availability on Wednesday, head coach Quentin Hillsman said he wasn’t concerned after the Orange lost two of three at the Greater Victoria Invitational last week and dropped out of the AP Top 25 for the first time this season. Instead, he saw SU’s next two games — at No. 24 Michigan and against UMBC — as a chance to climb back into the rankings. He even predicted the Orange would be ranked by next Monday.

On Thursday night, Syracuse (4-4) had every chance to add a win over a ranked opponent to its resume, holding a seven-point lead entering the fourth quarter. But No. 24 Michigan (7-1) implemented a full-court press that flustered SU in the fourth quarter and overtime en route to an 84-76 win on Thursday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Orange shot 5-for-17 and committed 12 turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtime. Their 24 total turnovers were a season-high. 

The loss marks Syracuse’s third-straight defeat, something it hasn’t done since the 2013-14 season. 

Entering Thursday, Syracuse averaged 15.5 points per game in the first quarter. On Wednesday, Gabrielle Cooper said slow starts have been SU’s “biggest problem this season.” 

On Thursday night, SU started better than it has all year. The Orange scored 21 points in the opening quarter and shot 5-for-10 from behind the arc. Freshman Teisha Hyman sunk all three of her attempts while Cooper added two of her own. But Michigan’s 8-for-14 (57%) shooting gave it a one-point lead at the first intermission.

In the second quarter, Syracuse continued to let it fly from 3-point range. Taleah Washington and Digna Strautmane each added triples, the latter of which stretched SU’s lead to five before halftime. The Wolverines put up just two 3-point attempts in the first half. Instead, they fed forwards Kayla Robbins and Hailey Brown, who combined for 18 of the home team’s 36 first-half points including 7-for-9 on free throws and got SU bigs Amaya Finklea-Guity and Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi in foul trouble. 

Two quick buckets from Robbins to open the second half brought Michigan within one. But 3s on three-straight possessions — two from Strautmane and one from Emily Engstler — brought the Orange’s lead back to eight before the under-five minute media timeout. 

Down seven at the start of the fourth quarter, the Wolverines resorted to a full-court press that disrupted SU’s ball-handlers. The Orange committed six turnovers in the quarter, including three from point guard Kiara Lewis when bringing up the ball. Two Strautmane free throws with four seconds left in regulation tied the game at 71, sending Syracuse to its second-straight overtime game.

The Orange continued to struggle against Michigan’s high-intensity defense, logging five turnovers and just four field goal attempts in the overtime period. The Wolverines drained all seven free throw attempts to secure the victory. 

Published on December 5, 2019 at 11:43 pm

Contact David: ddschnei@syr.edu