WBB | SU has no answers in loss to Seton Hall

By: Didier Morais

Posted: 1/14/09

Standing at the podium, Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman began to list several superstitious tactics he applied to his team to prevent them from relapsing into the same reoccurring trend.

Each game is the same story: From tip-off, the Orange plays a lackluster first half with little intensity, yet manages to pull off a radical run in the second half to outshine its opponent and claim victory.

But the bad habit finally caught up to Syracuse (13-4, Big East 2-2) Tuesday night, as the Orange snapped its eight-game home-game winning streak with a 70-66 loss to Seton Hall in front of 1,056 fans at the Carrier Dome. Hillsman, normally full of answers, was left relatively speechless during his post-game press conference.

"I don't know, I really don't," Hillsman said of his team digging itself into another early hole. "We tried everything. We've practiced the night before. We've not practiced the night before. We watch film the night before, we haven't. We got up in the morning for shootaround, we haven't. We changed our pre-game meal times. I mean, we've done everything. It's kind of hard to explain why we get off to these slow starts."

Hillsman wasn't the only clueless person. Junior forward Nicole Michael, who led all scorers with 22 points, couldn't explain the team's first-half woes any better than Hillsman could.

"I don't know either," Michael said. "I don't have a reason. The only thing I can think of is just starting off slow. Other than that, I obviously can't tell you why we start so slow and come back again. I guess that's just how we are."

The Pirates' early defensive pressure played a significant factor in the Orange's slow start. Seton Hall (13-3, 2-2) coach Phyllis Mangina shifted her normal defensive strategy and had her primary defensive unit focus on senior guard Chandrea Jones on the offensive end rather than the Orange's leading scorer, Erica Morrow.

It didn't take too long for the move to produce results. Seton Hall held Syracuse scoreless for the first three minutes of the game. As a result, Syracuse's starting lineup was immediately out of rhythm and forced up for three erratic air balls during its scoreless drought.

"We put our best defensive player on (Jones)," Mangina said. "I know a lot of people wanted us to focus on Morrow, but Jones is that other player that really makes them go. Plus, she rebounds the ball, we needed to put a bigger guard on their strongest player, and we did that to make them struggle."

In addition to pressure, the Pirates forced the Syracuse guards to commit numerous turnovers and the Pirates scored transition points in the process. That ability to take advantage of fast-break points ultimately led to a 19-7 run by Seton Hall to start the game.

And yet again, the Orange dug itself into a difficult hole in the first half. Trailing by 16 points with 12 minutes remaining, Syracuse regained its bravado and did what it does best - charged right back with another run.

But it wasn't an ordinary run. Michael and Morrow cracked down on defense, forced turnovers, and drained shots at will en route to an improbable 20-4 run to put SU back into contention. And with two minutes left in the game, Michael followed up a missed shot with a clutch layup to notch the game up at 66.

Still, the late-game heroics didn't faze the Pirates. Prior to the game, Mangina knew of the Orange's history and prepared her team accordingly to fend them off during the waning minutes of the game.

"We told them at halftime," Mangina said. "We told them (Syracuse) plays better second halves than most teams we face, and we better rebound the basketball and take care of the ball a little bit better. (Syracuse) has gotten down on a lot of games this year and has come back, so we just did enough to hold on at the end."

Once Syracuse tied up the game, Seton Hall relied on its free-throw shooting to prevent another Syracuse comeback. With 10 seconds left in the game, the Orange fouled Pirates' guard Ebonie Williams. Williams converted both free throws to essentially seal the victory for Seton Hall.

The Orange never led throughout the game because it simply couldn't overcome its usual first-half struggles, leaving Hillsman searching for answers to the strange habit.

"I know that we are prepared," Hillsman said. "I know that our kids come out and play with maximum effort every game. It's not effort, it's not preparation. It's hard to explain when you feel like you have everything under control and you just can't get off to good starts."

dsmorais@syr.edu