After Syracuse’s 30-point loss to Duke on Thursday night, head coach Quentin Hillsman made it clear that the Orange would not be changing the way they play despite three losses by at least 15 points in their last four games. That means a full-court press after every made basket, lots of 3-point attempts and a fast pace.

“At the end of the day, I’m never going to stop,” Hillsman said after the Duke game. “Either we’re going to figure it out and play our way, or we’re going to have more games like this because I’m not going to back down playing the way we need to play.”

On Sunday, Syracuse (9-10, 3-5 Atlantic Coast) stuck to its game-plan — it ran the full-court press after made shots, attempted 22 3s played at its usual fast pace — but again that wasn’t enough. The Orange fell to Wake Forest (12-8, 5-4), 65-60, on Sunday evening at the LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, suffering their fourth defeat in five games. 

After starting 4-for-13 from the field, Syracuse made its last three shots of the opening quarter to cut Wake Forest’s lead to three, including a 3-pointer from Kiara Lewis with five seconds remaining. Lewis was SU’s most effective player in the first half, scoring 11 points (6-8 free throws made), dishing out two assists and acting as the Orange’s main creator. Five SU players, including Lewis, put up at least four shots in the opening 20 minutes.

Despite another poor shooting performance in the second quarter, the Orange earned a two-point lead heading into halftime by clamping down on Wake Forest’s forwards. The home team shot 3-for-13 from within the arc as SU forwards Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi, Amaya Finklea-Guity and guard Emily Engstler each recorded a block and kept active hands down low. The Orange allowed 46 points in the paint in Thursday’s 88-58 loss to Duke, several of which were uncontested layups. On Sunday, SU allowed just 20.

The Demon Deacons adjusted their offense to open the second half by taking advantage of newfound space from behind the arc. Alex Sharp drilled her only two 3-point attempts of the quarter while Gina Conti sunk one. Wake Forest more than doubled its second-quarter tally and retook the lead, 47-44, heading into the final period. Lewis, Djaldi-Tabdi and Engstler each added four points in the quarter to keep SU within a score.

But the Orange soon ditched its varied shot selection and resorted to its favorite shot, the 3-pointer, to open the fourth quarter. Four of SU’s first six shots of the period came from behind the arc. Zero dropped. Syracuse went scoreless in the first four-and-a-half minutes of the quarter and trailed by nine before Engstler sunk a deep ball before the under-five media timeout.

Out of the timeout, Engstler feigned another 3 then drove to the hoop and converted an and-1, narrowing the Demon Deacons’ lead to three. Later, Teisha Hyman and Gabrielle Cooper each dropped in 3s and SU forced a travel after the ensuing Wake Forest’s inbound pass. But an offensive foul on Engstler on the next possession caused the Orange’s hot hand to foul out, negating SU’s comeback. Over the final three minutes, Syracuse scored just four points, and the Demon Deacons successfully ran out the clock.

Syracuse returns to the Carrier Dome on Thursday to face Virginia Tech at 8 p.m.

Published on January 26, 2020 at 6:50 pm

Contact David: ddschnei@syr.edu