SYRACUSE, N.Y. -
Home was where the heart had been all season for the Syracuse women's basketball team, winning 10-of-11 in the Carrier Dome.
And after last Thursday’s blowout loss to Notre Dame on the road in South Bend, Indiana, home cooking
seemed to be just what the doctor ordered for the Orange.
But No. 17 Louisville, winners of 11-straight games, had
other ideas. On the strength of a red-hot start, the Cardinals won 71-53, handing the Orange just its
second home loss of the season.
Myisha Hines-Allen dominated, scoring 27 points on 13-of-23 shooting and grabbing 10 boards in 31 minutes of action. She said the key to success in this affair was how her team meticulously handled the Syracuse full-court pressure.
"Just staying calm," Hines-Allen told reporters following the game. "Don't throw it over the top. Make direct passes. Make sure you make eye contact with the person before you throw the ball, just little things like that."
First Half
It certainly wasn’t a pretty start for the Orange, as the
Cards stormed out of the gate in route to a 22-6 lead after one quarter. Syracuse shot just 3-of-14 from the field in the opening period.
After the game, Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman took full responsibility for the team's disappointing performance.
"We didn't play well and ultimately that falls on me as a head coach," he said. "I've got to find a way to put a better product on the floor. We can't go into these games and not compete. Tonight I don't think we competed and it's my job. I've got to put a good team on a floor, a team that's competitive that could play against the top teams in the country. And we have enough talent to do that."
Orange supporters seemed to get their fair share of exercise on Monday night. The home crowd usually claps in unison while standing until Syracuse scores its first basket. Just under four minutes had gone by before fans got a chance to take their seats.
And the offensive struggle continued, as the team shot just 18 percent through the first two quarters and a dreadful eight percent from beyond the arc.
"If you look at the first three or four minutes of the game, we played great defense, we just couldn't make shots," junior Alexis Peterson said.
Second Half
The Orange (14-6, 4-3 ACC) came back to start the second half, cutting what
was once a 29-point lead down to 13. Fueling the comeback was Peterson,
who became much more aggressive against the defense.
"I just personally didn't want to let my team down," she said. " I wasn't making shots. I tried not to think about it and wanted to come back out and be as aggressive as I can."
She was the only Orange player to reach double-figures, tallying 13 points to go along with six assists, but shot just 4-of-16 from the field and committed five of the team's 19 turnovers.
After scoring just six points in the first quarter, Syracuse managed just eight in the fourth and ended the game shooting a woeful 25 percent from the field. These poor numbers aren't just a reflection of good defense by the opposition. The Orange had a ton of opportunities, but couldn't capitalize, missing wide open shots, many of which were point blank.
But make no mistake about it, Louisville (15-5, 7-0 ACC) looked every bit like a team that is undefeated in conference play. The Cardinals scored 20 points off turnovers and dominated in the painted area with 34 points. The uptempo style of play proved to be too much for the Orange to handle. Louisville shot 47 percent for the game and had 23 assists on 27 made baskets.
Syracuse never led in this game and has now lost its last two contests to ranked opponents by an average of 23 points. But according to Coach Q, the confidence isn't wavering in that locker room. He was adamant that his team would be ready on Wednesday night at 7:00 against Boston College.
"I guarantee you're going to see a tougher team," he said with conviction. "I know this sounds like one of those coaches that's really going off, yeah...I'll be ready to compete Wednesday."
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