WBB | Despite 3-point woes, Syracuse finds way to first home victory

With 6:18 remaining in the second half, Syracuse head coach Quinten Hillsman called a timeout. The Orange had led by as much as 10 in the second half, but its lead had been carved down to only one over Lehigh.

Going into the timeout, SU had only made three shots beyond the arc in 20 attempts, which equated to 15 percent. Hillsman's message in the timeout was simple: Go to the rim.

"We're looking to play at the rim," Hillsman said. "We said we're going to play this last six minutes at the rim, whether it's off dribble penetration or if it's off someone posting up. We just wanted to make sure we played at the rim."

Hillsman's players listened and it worked, as Syracuse went on to win its home opener, 61-54, in front of 382 at Manley Field House on Sunday. The Orange (2-1) scored 14 more points the rest of the way, eight of which came in the paint. SU shot only one more 3-pointer after the timeout, which Nicole Michael made, giving her a game-high 18 points.

It was no mystery why Hillsman wanted his players to try to pound the ball inside. In the first half, the Orange tripled Lehigh's production in the paint, 12-4. It was much of the same in the second, especially after the timeout. Following the stoppage, SU scored eight more points in the paint and tripled the Mountain Hawks' production, 24-8, in the paint.

Chandrea Jones alone tied the points in the paint made by Lehigh (1-3). Jones, who was 0-for-7 from deep, found the basket from close range three times after Hillsman commanded his team to go inside.

"I was just trying to get buckets, trying to take it to the rim, trying to get people to come over so I can dish or even take it to the rim either way," said Jones, who finished with 10 points.

The domination inside came not only on the scoreboard; SU had a major advantage rebounding the basketball. Jones led the way with 10 rebounds, but all of her teammates contributed. Hillsman played a total of nine players, each of them grabbing at least one rebound, including the smallest player on the court, Cintia Johnson. The 5-foot-4 guard grabbed two of her three rebounds at the offensive end.

"One thing we stress every day in practice is rebounding the basketball," Hillsman said. "Games we don't rebound the basketball we're going to lose, so we are going to rebound the basketball. I think that's the only way we can win."

For as much success as the Orange had in the paint, there was a reason Hillsman wanted to go inside, because shots around the perimeter weren't falling.

Other than Michael, who shot 2-for-3 from downtown, the rest of the team shot 11 percent (2-of-18). In the second half, before Michael closed the door with her 3-pointer to allow the Orange to go ahead by 10, SU was 0-for-9 from 3-point range.

But the Orange finished the game with 50 rebounds, which tied the most it had in any game last season, 23 of which came at the offensive end. Still, SU didn't fully capitalize on the offensive boards as much as it could have, managing only 23 second-chance points. The Mountain Hawks finished with 11 offensive boards and had 16 second-chance points.

SU brought its defense to the home opener, not allowing Lehigh to score through the first four minutes of play. That allowed Syracuse to jump out to an early 11-2 lead. The Mountain Hawks rallied with the deep ball to cut the lead to seven by halftime. Alex Ross made three of the four 3-pointers to cut the lead.

The second half was more of the same for Lehigh as Ross led the Mountain Hawks on another 3-point barrage. Ross was a pest against the Orange last year, scoring 21 points. She finished with 17 Sunday.

Hillsman played 2-3 zone defense in the first half and switched to man-to-man in the second half. Syracuse used a full-court press throughout the entire game.

Lehigh scored more in the second half, but it was Syracuse's ability to abandon the jump shot and score inside late that made the difference.

"We have to throw the ball inside more, and that's what we did," Hillsman said. "I think teams turn us into jump-shooting teams because they know we are very strong inside, and we are very athletic going to the rim."