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Entering the second quarter of its game with Saint Joseph’s Sunday, Syracuse led 22-14. The Orange looked to be en route to a second win to open their season, but Saint Joseph’s Talya Brugler had other ideas.

Two minutes into the second quarter, the 6-foot-2 Brugler sent a pass inside to teammate Laura Ziegler down low. Ziegler’s shot missed, but she grabbed her rebound, kicking it out to Brugler. Unmarked on the left wing, Brugler connected to make it 22-17.

On the Hawks’ next possession, Brugler cashed in on an easy layup to cut the deficit to 22-19. Then, after another Saint Joseph’s stop, Brugler nailed a corner 3 to tie the game at 22-22, forcing a Syracuse timeout less than three minutes into the second quarter.

“Lack of conversation on the defense,” Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said of her team’s defensive problem. “We knew that they misdirected. We were switching defense and then didn’t speak.”

Syracuse (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) fell 84-70 to Saint Joseph’s (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10) Sunday. The Hawks were led by 29 points from Brugler and 25 from Mackenzie Smith, who each made five triples. In total, the Hawks went 14-for-26 (53.8%) on 3-point attempts — the most 3s the Orange have allowed in a game since a 102-53 loss to then-No. 23 Virginia Tech on Feb. 17, 2022.

“Fourteen (3-pointers allowed) isn’t a bad number for us to defend,” Legette-Jack said. “(Brugler) was the culprit of that, and no matter how she was misdirected, she came to the top of the key and kept sharing that with them.”

Legette-Jack said she wanted players to step to Brugler or other Hawks who were taking 3s. But she also noted that Syracuse has six new players and is continuing to work to gel.

Despite their strong 3-point shooting day, the Hawks’ first attempt was an airball. Brugler had space but fired off the mark. Smith also started slow, missing her first three shots. But she caught a kick-out pass with a little over a minute left in the first period and cashed in.

Once the second quarter started, Brugler embarked on her solo 8-0 stretch. At halftime, she had 20 points — 15 of which came in the second quarter. Brugler connected on each of the four 3s she attempted in the first half. As a team, Saint Joseph’s went 5-for-10 from 3 in the second quarter.

After SU ended Brugler’s run, Smith released a corner 3, but it was too strong. SU’s Angelica Velez couldn’t bring down the rebound, as she was outdone by Brugler. Brugler then set up Ziegler from 3. This time, the Hawks didn’t miss.

SU’s Sophie Burrows diagnosed the offensive boards and kickouts as a key to Saint Joseph’s success. The Hawks registered 14 offensive rebounds on the day.

“We didn’t box out,” Burrows said. “We didn’t do a good enough job of getting on the boards.”

Saint Joseph’s picked up where it left off after halftime, with Smith and Brugler combining to score the team’s first 15 points and push the lead to 54-42 favoring the Hawks. On the play that pushed the lead to 12, Ziegler’s jumper didn’t fall, but again Saint Joseph’s was there to pick up the offensive board. Gabby Casey cleaned the glass before swinging it out to Smith, who made her third 3 of the game.

“You gotta defend,” Legette-Jack said. “You gotta say, ‘I’m not going to let you score and your teammate, I’m not going to let her score.’ We all have to have that mindset, that blue collar mindset.”

The Hawks kept piling on from long range. In the third quarter, Saint Joseph’s went a perfect 5-for-5. Smith got things going with a transition right corner 3 on a quick release to make it 46-41. Then from the other corner, Brugler canned a triple after a screen by Smith allowed the open look. Smith notched another triple to give Saint Joseph’s a 12-lead — the largest of the game at that point.

With 4:11 left, Emma Boslet found herself open on the left side of the arc and unleashed a triple that pushed the score to 57-44. To end the quarter, Boslet teed up Casey, who had space on the right wing to make it 65-51 and sink Saint Joseph’s 12th 3 of the game.

“We just didn’t do a good enough job with our defense,” Syracuse guard Georgia Woolley said. “We knew how we needed to come out and defend, and we didn’t do that and communicate well enough.”

Early in the fourth quarter, Smith got to her spot on the right wing of the arc. Though SU’s Keira Scott put a hand in her face, Smith swished the triple to hand the Hawks a 14-point cushion. Smith got to the same spot with 3:22 left in the game and connected on her fifth and final triple of the day.

After Brugler finished with 29 points, Legette-Jack said she hopes her team doesn’t let another opposing player have as much success for the rest of the season. It was early looks that got the Hawks going.

“When you see that ball go in the hole, it starts becoming ocean,” Legette-Jack said. “And so what we did early is allow (Brugler) to score buckets, and it became an ocean.”

Published on November 10, 2024 at 7:02 pm

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu