For the Syracuse women’s basketball team, the rebounding margin might as well be the score. Through 24 games, the team is 19-0 when it wins the battle of the boards and 0-5 when it loses or ties the battle.

So it was a bad omen Saturday when Notre Dame jumped out to a 7-1 rebounding advantage, and 8-2 scoring advantage. After 40 minutes were in the books, the Irish had out-rebounded the Orange, 45-31. The score followed suit, 79-67.

‘They really beat us up on the glass, and I thought that was the difference in the game,’ SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘They really took advantage of us on the rebounding end, and if you can’t rebound the basketball then you can’t win.’

Syracuse’s performance on the scoreboard mirrored its performance on the glass not only at the end, but throughout the game. After SU took its first lead of the game, 18-17 with 8:18 remaining in the first half, Notre Dame grabbed 10 of the next 11 rebounds, during an 11-3 run over the course of six minutes.

Syracuse would claw its way back and take a one-point advantage with 5:13 left. But a Lindsay Schrader jumper put the Irish back on top, and Charel Allen was able to grab the offensive board and make the putback to give Notre Dame a three-point lead.

‘We are not a great rebounding team, but I thought much better when we really needed to,’ Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. ‘I thought we did a really good job down the stretch when we absolutely had to have the boards.’

Indeed, Notre Dame came into the game ranked eighth in the Big East in rebounding, five spots behind third-ranked Syracuse. The only two Big East teams that had beaten SU on the boards this year were Connecticut and Pittsburgh, who are No. 1 and No. 2 in rebounding in the conference, respectively.

Allen led the way for the Irish with 12 rebounds, and 6-foot-4 center Erica Williamson was right behind her with 11 boards, including six on the offensive end.

‘They’re a very athletic team, and they love to rebound,’ Allen said. ‘We didn’t do a great job of boxing out on the defensive boards, but we just went after it and tried to do our best.’

Syracuse players were not made available for comment after the game.

For Hillsman, it was more than Williamson’s height that allowed her to have a big game down low. He said the lack of defensive three-second violations that were called against her allowed the Notre Dame center to camp out under the hoop.

‘We were down there battling and pushing, but when you can stand there and maintain that position for an entire possession, it is hard to box out,’ Hillsman said.

Throughout the game, Hillsman could be seen pleading with the officials for more three-second violations. From his place on the SU sideline, Hillsman spent much of the game screaming for his cause, trying to catch the attention of the official positioned around the baseline.

But, at least in Hillsman’s eyes, it was to no avail.

‘We could have had (men’s basketball center Arinze Onuaku) guarding her, and if she is standing there the whole game she might get one or two,’ Hilsman said. ‘Really, when you think about it she just stood there, and she was physical and she was aggressive and I give the kid credit. I wouldn’t have left the lane either.’

The rebounding battle has been Syracuse’s bread and butter all year, and Hillsman has made it clear that his team lives and dies by that margin. In Saturday’s game, the rebound deficit led to Syracuse being outscored in the paint and on second-chance points.

‘Every game that we haven’t won, we have been out-rebounded,’ Hillsman said. ‘That has been the deciding factor on every game that we have lost, we were just not rebounding the basketball. If we aren’t rebounding the basketball we can’t win, and that is what most frustrating.’

kbaustin@syr.edu

Published on February 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm