On The Baseline Of An ACC Showdown: A Photog's Sounds & Sights Of The Game

SU Women's teams celebrates National Girls & Women in Sports Day at the Dome
(c) Rilwan Ameen, 2014

BY Rilwan Ameen SYRACUSE (Newhouse Sports Media Center) - From the PA announcer's voice, the whistle of the referees and to the buzz of the shot clock horn; the sounds and sights of the game become one with the photographer.

There were the chants of  'we want tacos!' from the Syracuse crowd of 1,312 on hand, the counting down of the shot clock by the Maryland bench, the bouncing of the basketball, the squeaking of the hardwood from sneakers, the constant back and forth communication through full-court pressure, the swish of a net and the clank of a rim.

There were also the chants of 'Here we go Orange! here we go!' from Syracuse cheerleaders, moans and groans from the crowd after a tough miss and breaks in play action leading to the coaches' interacting in the huddle with their players. These were all indelible moments for me capturing live game action as a first-time photographer.

Coming off the College GameDay atmosphere and historic win Saturday night that will most likely vault the Syracuse Orange Men's basketball team to the nation's #1 ranking come Monday, it was a subdued but hopeful crowd on hand at national Girls and Women in Sports Day at the Carrier Dome on Sunday.

That was in part due to the Syracuse Women's basketball team unable to sustain the energy which propelled them to stage their own dramatic win on Thursday night, defeating the #6 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels rallying back from an eighteen point deficit in the second half on the road.

In what has been a grueling ACC season, Syracuse with the win over North Carolina was challenging to become one of seven ranked teams in the conference.

But after that big win just two nights prior, the conference schedule gave the Orange women no breaks as they faced off against their second consecutive top-ten opponent, the #8 ranked Maryland Terrapins.

Being a newly minted photographer came with some challenges but gave me a first-hand fly on the wall view for the game action.

The art form like the essence of college basketball is one and done, where in broadcasting you can go back and edit to choose from the particular shots you want, in photography once a play happens you have to move onto the next one.

Having the vivid image of Brittney Sykes' subtle jab-step to the basket or Lexie Brown's sharpshooter's view from the baseline makes it as if you're intertwined with the thoughts and action of the players in real time.

Being next to ESPN and Time Warner Cable photographers, I initially tried to imitate how the pros were doing the task, but then my attention was turned to strictly focusing on the game and crowd as I was guided to the claps, the chants, the calls for referees to get things right from both sides.

As the game went on, you could feel the meaningful implications the game had in altering the race in the top half of the ACC.

Syracuse led 8-4 at the 16:38 mark in the first half but the Terrapins took command of the game from that point in a wire-to-wire win that saw a 21-point turnaround -- with Maryland outscoring Syracuse 85 to 54 en route to an 89-62 victory.

The game's final of 89-64 was important, but as I watched Syracuse and Maryland players and coaches extending on-court greetings after, I learned that as a photographer game action and individual moments can tell a story in enhanced detail much more than a mere box score result can.

Check out the story of today's game through my pictures & video below:

Syracuse Players (Briana Day, Brittney Sykes & Brianna Butler):

 SU Player Post-Game Reaction

Syracuse Women's Head Coach (Quentin Hillsman):

 SU Women's Head Coach Quentin Hillsman Post-Game Reaction

Maryland Women's Head Coach (Brenda Frese) & Players (Lexie Brown & Alyssa Thomas):

Maryland Post-Game Reaction