Second Half Defense Powers Syracuse to 68-54 Win Over Pitt

Story, Photos and Video by Julia Morris

Syracuse, N.Y. -- No. 25 Syracuse was down by six points to Pittsburgh at the end of the first half on Sunday afternoon- and Orange Head Coach Quentin Hillsman found himself questioning whether his team understood the importance of the game.  With only one more game left in the regular season, Syracuse needed to beat Pitt to stay in contention for the NCAA Tournament.

“It was just one of those things I had to let them know, it was our effort,” Hillsman said. “There was a point in the first half when I questioned if we understood the urgency of this game. I challenged them and said if we win this game we have a great chance to go to the Tournament, you lose the game you go to the NIT.”

Whether Hillsman’s speech inspired Syracuse to play with a greater sense of urgency or not, the Orange’s defense smothered Pitt in the second half.   Syracuse (20-8, 10-5 ACC) limited the Panthers (18-9, 8-6 ACC) to 13 points - four in the last ten minutes of play- en route to a 68-54 victory on Senior Day at the Carrier Dome.

Pitt Dominates Down Low in the First Half

While Pitt struggled to score down the stretch, the Panthers' offense scored 41 points in the first half.  Leading the way was Monica Wignot, who scored all of her 14 points in the first twenty minutes.  The 6-foot-3 forward, who played four years of volleyball at Pitt before joining the basketball team as a graduate student this year, was 6-of-8 from the field heading into the break.

Syracuse shot only 31 percent from the field in the opening half, but the Orange stayed in the game because of 6-of-13 shooting from 3-point range.  Brianna Butler, who made six 3-point field goals in the first half of Syracuse’s last game against BC, continued her hot streak and made five 3-pointers during the game.

“When you make shots it gets your confidence up and once you’re seeing the ball going through the basket it’s a good feeling," Butler said. "You feel more confident when you shoot the ball for the next time." 

One of Butler’s threes came with 8:06 left in the half and tied the game at 24. Besides that tie, there were four other points when the score was even in the first, along with eight lead changes. Taylor Ford hit another three for Syracuse with 5:14 to go to put the Orange up by one, 27-26, but Pitt answered on its next possession when Utica native Brianna Kiesel connected from long-range and put the Panthers up by two, 29-27. 

But that three was Kiesel’s only one of the game.  The Panthers’ leading scorer, who came into the game averaging 18 points per game, finished 1-of-7 from behind the arc and 3-of-12 from the field.

“Teams know that Kiesel’s a key to our team and if they scored or they were pressing all they did was double team her and take the ball out of her hands,” Pitt Head Coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said.

While the game was close for most of the half, Pitt did start to pull away in the final minutes before the break.  The Panthers dominated in the paint, outscoring Syracuse 26-8 down low in the first.  Three of those baskets came in the final three minutes of the half when Yacine Diop hit three wide-open shots down low.  Her third one came with 1:34 left and put Pitt up 38-31 and the Panthers went on to take a 41-35 heading into the second half.

Orange Starts Second Half Strong

Syracuse came out with a different energy after halftime.   Ten seconds in, Butler hit another three to pull Syracuse within three, 41-38.   

Two minutes later, Cornelia Fondren had the ball on a fast break with one defender between her and Alexis Peterson.  Fondren opted to pass to Peterson instead of taking the ball to the hoop, and Peterson couldn’t handle the pass.  Hillsman was visibly upset with Fondren’s choice to give the ball up- but she would not let it happen again. 

A few seconds later, she had the ball down low in front of the basket and went right up with it to put Syracuse within one.   She added two other baskets in the paint later on in the half and finished the game with nine points off the bench.

“She plays four positions for us, it doesn’t matter what position she plays she is going to be effective in that position,” Hillsman said.  “She is a tremendous talent.”

With 11:41 to play, Diop scored again down low to put Pitt up 50-48. But that was the last Panthers’ field goal until the final minute of the game as Syracuse's defensive pressure proved too much for Pitt to handle.

With 9:34 to go, Briana Day rolled right to the middle of the paint, caught a pass from Peterson, and laid it in from the right side of the lane to put Syracuse up by four, 54-50.  That lead provided enough momentum for the Orange to keep moving forward.   

And Day’s basket was not the only way she helped Syracuse pull off the victory - she also had 18 rebounds, five blocks, and three steals to go along with her 15 points. 

“I’m just playing hard and doing what I can to help my team,” Day said.

Butler killed any hopes of a Pitt comeback when she hit another three with 2:12 left that made the score 64-51.  Hillsman was pumped after the basket and even high-fived a few of the Syracuse basketball alums who were sitting next to the Syracuse bench. 

Hillsman was also filled with energy at the half, as McConnell-Serio said his speech changed Syracuse's approach to the game and helped them pull off the victory.

“I could just hear screaming from the other end,” McConnell-Serio said. “They obviously responded...to come out of the locker room and change the whole complexion of the game.”

Next Up

The match-up against Pitt was the Orange’s last regular season home game.   The team’s two seniors, Diamond Henderson and Tiara Butler, were honored before tip-off.  Syracuse will play its final regular season game on Thursday at Clemson.  The game will start at 7 p.m.

The Panthers still have two more games left in their season against Notre Dame and Clemson.  First up, they will travel to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish on Thursday.  Game time is 7 p.m. 

Videos:

Alexis Peterson, Briana Day, Brianna Butler Post-Game

Coach McConnell-Serio Post-Game

Coach Hillsman Post-Game