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Syracuse ended the afternoon the same way it started. Chrislyn Carr’s 3-pointer off a pass around the 3-point arc from Teisha Hyman gave the Orange a sense of comeback, a feeling that they might be able to pull off a stunning win to begin Atlantic Coast Conference play and, as Alaysia Styles said prior to the season, begin to prove everyone wrong. But then it felt like Notre Dame put a lid on Syracuse’s basket, and the misses that plagued SU’s first half returned.

Notre Dame traded baskets with Syracuse through the third quarter and into the first two minutes of the fourth. Syracuse stormed back to keep the deficit at four points, but then the lights-out shooting from players like Najé Murray and Chrislyn stopped. Syracuse was shooting nearly 50% in the third quarter, but it fell back to a lackluster 15.8% from the field in the final 10 minutes.

Syracuse (1-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) started Sunday’s game with a make from deep just 28 seconds after the tip-off. Styles broke up a pass and threw the ball up to Murray. She pulled up from straight on and buried the shot to kick off scoring. But for the first of two stretches of time against Notre Dame (3-0, 1-0 ACC), the Orange’s net hung still. Acting head coach Vonn Read said the Fighting Irish’s defensive zone “bothered” the team, leading to the 15 total minutes that lacked a point from Syracuse.

“They just kept packing it in on us, and when we got it inside, they were kind of walling us up a bit,” Read said.

Syracuse shot 52.9% in its opening win against Monmouth, allowing a massive lead to open up against the Hawks. The team is full of shooters to offset their lack of size, but in the opening minutes of Sunday’s game, Syracuse’s shooting didn’t connect at the same rate it did on Wednesday. Midway through the first quarter, SU was shooting just 11.1% from the field. It ended the first half shooting 27.8%. The guards would swing the ball outside looking to create enough space for a shot while either Eboni Walker or Styles would disappear inside the defense of the Irish. Styles and Walker are both in their first offensive system where they’re tasked with manning the paint.

The trend continued as Syracuse slowly worked itself into a larger deficit, finally culminating in the eight-minute scoring drought coinciding with a 21-0 run from Notre Dame. With just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Chrislyn bucked the trend when she buried a second-chance opportunity from deep to cut the lead to seven. But that shot seemed like an aberration until Murray grabbed a pass from Hyman and buried a 3-pointer halfway through the second quarter.

“It was really just trying to find out lineups. We’re playing a lot of different players and trying to find the right combinations,” Read said. “We may struggle a little bit with that earlier on in the season.”

In last season’s win over Notre Dame, SU utilized late-game scoring in order to storm back from a 15-point deficit to upset the Fighting Irish. On Sunday, Syracuse’s final push for a conference win went with hardly any force.

Chrislyn’s 3 in the second quarter seemed to light a spark, firing Syracuse off on a 14-4 run that brought them within two points of Notre Dame. Christianna Carr responded with a 3 of her own from the right corner, and Chrislyn helped out by notching a steal at halfcourt and making her transition layup. But a team still trying to find its rhythm, its chemistry and a starting lineup only played two quarters where their shooting was as advertised. After that, Syracuse was “not the best,” as Chrislyn put it.

SU didn’t have the avenues it did against Monmouth to drive for points in the paint. When they did try to drive inside, the Orange were stifled by Maya Dodson or Maddy Westbeld, leading to many off-balanced shots that were off target. That’s what led to 31 defensive rebounds for Notre Dame, and why the Irish were ultimately able to pull away and turn Sunday into a game that looked as if it was never close.

Syracuse’s lack of size was evident in the first quarter, with Notre Dame out rebounding Syracuse 15-9, contributing to the seven minutes without a point. With the Orange’s shooting sputtering out, Styles and Walker had their hands full with the taller, sturdier centers for the Irish. Toward the end of the first quarter, Alaina Rice finally found a lane to drive to the basket and to get a bank-shot off. But it missed, and after collecting the rebound, Rice was smothered by three Notre Dame jerseys to snuff out a chance at points.

“They were long,” Styles said of the Notre Dame forwards. “They have their hands open, their arms wide, they’re going to be covering a lot of space at one time.”

Syracuse tried to keep pace with Notre Dame, but the consistency didn’t stay as the clock ticked down to end the fourth quarter. Within four minutes, the Irish had silenced Chrislyn’s three and the hard layup from Styles inside the paint that followed. By the time Dara Mabrey swished a deep ball through with three minutes left in Sunday’s game, Syracuse was down by 19 points in its first ACC test.

“We hung around and gave ourselves a chance,” Read said. “Then 25-7 in the fourth quarter, they kind of took over the game.”

Published on November 14, 2021 at 2:04 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt