As the clock wound down in regulation, it became clear that whichever Syracuse player ended up with the ball would be forced to chuck a desperation 3. Down three, the Orange inbounded the ball with 13 seconds left. They could have gone for a two, fouled and hoped for a missed free throw, but as Kiara Lewis dribbled at the top of the key and passed to Emily Engstler, there was no doubt it would be SU’s final possession of regulation.

Engstler pump-faked and found Digna Strautmane retreating behind the 3-point line. Strautmane didn’t use her usual quick instinct from deep, though. Instead, she dribbled once and hesitated before flinging the ball over the outreached arm of Florida State’s Kiah Gillespie. Moments later, the ball pepped through the net, sending the SU bench and Carrier Dome crowd into a frenzy and the game into overtime. It was SU’s second 3-pointer since the first quarter, both of which came from Strautmane in the final minute of regulation.

While it was a 3-point shot that kept the Orange’s upset bid alive, it was not the formula behind Syracuse’s (7-6, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) resume-boosting overtime win over No. 8 Florida State (13-1, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) on Thursday night in the Carrier Dome. With 0.8 seconds left in overtime and SU down by one, Emily Engstler got a screen, flared towards to basket, caught a lob pass from Teisha Hyman and beat the buzzer. The play earned Syracuse’s place atop the night’s SportsCenter Top 10 and capped off a dominant performance down low in which the Orange scored 46 points in the paint.

“Getting in the paint, there are opportunities to score the basketball, get to the foul line, offensive rebound opportunities,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “I thought we did a real good job of doing that.”

Syracuse started the game with the hot hand from deep, nailing five of their first seven 3-point attempts in what looked to be another game in which SU would rely on its favorite shot. But as the first quarter progressed, the Orange’s looks became contested, and SU ended the period 6-for-15 from behind the arc. Guard Gabrielle Cooper said the Seminoles allowed for several open looks early on but adjusted quickly.

While Syracuse surpassed its season average of over 29 3-point attempts per game (33), shots from beyond the 3-point line after the first quarter were few and came only in bunches. Rather, the Orange used Florida State’s aggressive perimeter defense to their advantage by working the ball down low to center Amaya Finklea-Guity and forward Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi through the pick-and-roll.

“I think (Syracuse’s) post players were great.” Florida State head coach Sue Semrau said. “They did a really good job of isolating us one-on-one. Our size has been bothering people, and I didn’t think it really bothered them tonight.”

Despite shooting 0-for-5 from 3-point range in the second quarter, SU held a one-point lead at halftime, and Florida State was yet to hold a lead. As the Seminoles got into a groove on offense to open the third quarter, the Orange responded with guards attacking the rim rather than settling for substandard looks from deep. Lewis and Teisha Hyman constantly drove into the right side of the lane and rose over FSU’s forwards to lay in contested shots they have struggled to convert this season. Again, SU shot 0-for-5 from deep in the quarter.

“We can get downhill and attack the paint,” Hillsman said. “I thought that (Kiara) and Teisha were fantastic going downhill and playing at the rim.”

SU’s plan on offense was characterized by a quick turnaround after a basket by the Seminoles. Typically, Lewis will look for players like Strautmane, Cooper or Taleah Washington in the deep corner for a 3-ball after receiving the ball from an inbound. This time, she spotted Washington, who had the freedom to take one step back and shoot a wide-open 3. Instead, she caught the ball, glanced toward the hoop and dished it to Djaldi-Tabdi for an easy layup.

Trailing by five to start the fourth quarter, the Orange’s aggression in attacking the basket only increased. Hillsman said he wanted SU to “pressure the refs to call fouls.” Four different Syracuse players combined to shoot 11-for-13 from the free-throw line in the final period, more than quadrupling its attempts from the first three quarters. FSU’s main bigs, Gillespie and Valencia Myers, finished the game with four and five fouls, respectively.

“Coming in the game, we knew that we had to try to get them into foul trouble,” Cooper said. “Especially their guards and their big players, they play a lot of minutes. In order to cut that down, we had to get people into foul trouble.”

In addition to SU’s many trips to the line, Lewis, Djaldi-Tabdi and Engstler showed soft touch around the rim by sinking contested shots that the Orange have seen clank off the rim more often than not this season. Those buckets were crucial in keeping Syracuse within striking distance and eventually setting up Strautmane’s last-second heroics.

All nine of SU’s points in overtime either came from the free-throw line or in the paint as Florida State shut down any potential looks from behind the arc. That included the Seminoles’ defensive scheme on the final play, in which Hillsman believed they defended the pass into the backcourt rather than tracking Engstler.

“I knew they thought we would try to get something back because you can get a catch-and-shoot in 0.8 seconds,” Hillsman said. “I was happy Emily got a clean look but more importantly a really soft pass to the rim for her to catch it and lay it up. Just really good execution by our team.”

Published on January 3, 2020 at 1:55 am

Contact David: ddschnei@syr.edu