Stifling ‘D’ Leads Orange Women to Victory over Virginia Tech

By Nick Richardson
Photo by Ellen Burr


SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After a disappointing road loss to North Carolina on Thursday, the Syracuse women’s basketball team bounced back with a dominating performance at home, defeating the Virginia Tech Hokies 60-39 at the Carrier Dome Sunday afternoon.

It was a complete performance by the Orange (12-4, 2-1 ACC), much to the delight of head coach Quentin Hillsman.

“I think that everything we wanted to do in our keys to victory, we hit those benchmarks,” said Hillsman, his voice nearly gone after a game that did a number on his vocal chords.

“It was just on one play,” said Hillsman with a smile, referring to the precise moment when his voice left him.

There couldn’t have been too much to be upset about from Hillsman’s point of view. Just days after giving up 77 points to the Tar Heels, Hillsman’s squad held a Virginia Tech team (13-3, 1-2) that entered the day with just two losses to a mere 39 points.

“Our pressure was tremendous today,” Hillsman said. “We did an excellent job of getting into our press every possession.”

Hokies head coach Dennis Wolff was visibly frustrated with how little offense his team was able to create.

“I think we’re a good team but if you don’t finish your possessions then you have no chance,” Wolff said.

First Half Lockdown

The first half of this contest wasn’t filled with a whole lot of offensive fireworks.

Both teams struggled to make shots, with the Orange going into the half with a 29-18 advantage despite shooting just 28 percent from the field. The Hokies weren’t much more accurate, shooting 36 percent in the first half.

Syracuse was able to pull ahead thanks to near-perfect execution of their full-court press defense, forcing Virginia Tech into 15 first-half turnovers.

“When we’re shooting 29, 30 percent, we have to play this way,” said Hillsman in reference to his squad’s defensive performance. “This is how we win.”

Junior center Briana Day felt the team had something to prove after the tough loss to North Carolina.

“Losing to a Carolina team that we should’ve beat, we definitely had to come back and just like put a hurting on somebody,” said Day, who finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Wolff pointed out that the Hokies ability to get good looks was rendered null by their turnover woes.

 “We were turning it over so doggone much that I’m not overly concerned with the shot selection,” he said.

Picking Up the Tempo

The action picked up a bit in the second half, as the Orange came out strong and never let the Hokies get within striking distance.

The offense was paced by junior guard Alexis Peterson, who led all scorers with 16 points in the contest.

 “You just kind of go with the flow of the game,” Peterson said. “Early we got chances to break out in transition. In the second half we kind of slowed the tempo down and really made them have to grind it out with us in the halfcourt.”

Despite shooting just 30 percent from the field and 21 percent from three point land, the Orange was able to keep possessions alive thanks to hustle on the offensive glass. Syracuse outrebounded the Hokies 50-40 overall, including a 27-12 margin in offensive boards.

Leading the way in that department was senior guard Cornelia Fondren, who racked up 12 rebounds, eight of which came in the second half.

Fondren noted how her opportunities were a result of the attention being paid to Briana Day.

“She was saying she couldn’t get her hands on rebounds, they were boxing her out,” Fondren said. “She was like, good thing I picked up the slack.”

Game Notes

Coach Hillsman was honored before the game for earning his 200^th career win last Sunday against Duke.

Neither team shot the ball well from deep. The Orange’s 21-percent clip was rather hot compared to the Hokies’ paltry one for 14 three-point shooting performance.

Travels were a major issue for Virginia Tech all game long, with many of its 29 turnovers occurring at midcourt or in the Hokies' own end.

The crowd was rather lively thanks to the presence of numerous local girls high school basketball teams, who attended Sunday’s contest as part of Syracuse’s annual Team Day.

Up Next

The Orange women will stay in Syracuse as they get ready to face the Pittsburgh Panthers (8-8, 0-3) at the Carrier Dome on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 7:00 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN3.