WBB : SU game plan doomed by poor shooting
BATON ROUGE, La. – Throughout the close-fought battle between Syracuse and Hartford here at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Syracuse executed its game plan to near perfection.
It was the one thing coaches don’t write on game plans, though, that did the young Syracuse team in: make shots.
Syracuse shot a dismal 16-for-59 from the field, its lowest field goal total and shooting percentage of the season. Everything else the Orange did well couldn’t save it from its impending fate: a 59-55 loss to Hartford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
‘It’s frustrating when your game plan actually falls apart, but our game plan didn’t fall apart,’ SU coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘We got [Hartford forward Danielle] Hood in foul trouble, and we were just in a position to control the game.’
It wasn’t that Syracuse didn’t get the shots it wanted. Hillsman said he was happy with how his team attacked the rim and got shots under the hoop. But the attempts didn’t fall for most of the Syracuse frontcourt, including a 0-for-6 effort from forward Nicole Michael and 1-for-6 from forward Vionca Murray.
‘I actually thought we took too many 3’s today because we try to attack the rim and be aggressive,’ Hillsman said. ‘That’s our game, just trying to stay close to the basket, trying to stay close to the rim and attacking the basket.’
Facing off against a staunch Hartford interior defense, Syracuse couldn’t get an open look. In one possession in the first half, forward Chandrea Jones had two shots blocked. On the ensuing possession, Murray missed a short jumper, and the Orange missed three putback attempts.
The tough play underneath did result in one positive for the Orange: free throws. Syracuse converted 21 free throws, compared to 11 from Hartford. Free throws accounted for seven of SU’s final 13 points as it fought back to take a one-point lead in the final minute.
The team also clamped down on defense, particularly on Hood, Hartford’s leading scorer, who managed only six points in 18 minutes before fouling out with 5:33 left.
For SU guard Erica Morrow, the game was about being resourceful when her team wasn’t making shots.
‘We’re not just a shooting team,’ Morrow said. ‘We have many different players who do different things – shoot or go to the basket. I think it was important that we played at the rim today, just go to the basket and be strong with the basketball.’
Of all the fouls Hillsman disagreed with throughout the game – and there were plenty – none caused a more furious reaction then when he was issued a technical foul with 3:15 remaining in the game.
After Vionca Murray was called for an off-ball, offensive foul, Hillsman went into his usual animated post-whistle demeanor.
When he was issued a technical for his reaction, Hillsman had to be restrained by associate head coach Matt Luneau and director of basketball operations Kornell Battle, as he struggled to make his way toward the official.
After the game, Hillsman was calmer when he looked back on the situation.
‘What do you say to that?’ Hillsman said. ‘Somebody gives you a tech in your coach’s box. So, it is what it is. She did the best job she could. She thought it was a tech so it was a tech.’
After Hartford took the lead by sinking both free throws and adding one more free throw on the ensuing possession, SU forward Fantasia Goodwin bailed out her coach, by making a layup to tie the game and adding two free throws to give her team the lead back.
‘I know you can’t lose like that,’ Hillsman said, of losing because of a technical foul. ‘The basketball gods don’t do that to you, so I wasn’t worried about that.’
Saturday was the last game for seniors Fantasia Goodwin, Vaida Sipaviciute, Tracy Harbut and Mary Joe Riley. … The game marked Syracuse’s fourth tournament appearance in program history and the second in the last 20 years. … Saturday was the first-ever matchup between Hartford and Syracuse.
Published on March 24, 2008 at 12:00 pm
