Carmen Tyson-Thomas, Kayla Alexander and Elashier Hall didn’t hesitate at all.

When asked the difference between Syracuse’s play on offense in the first half and the second half, they responded simultaneously.

‘Finishing.’

After a difficult first half in which the Orange struggled to capitalize on its numerous second chance opportunities, Syracuse (3-0) came out with a different mentality and cruised to a 74-54 victory over Lafayette (0-3) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. The Orange shot 43 percent from the field in the second half after a first half in which SU was a cold 32 percent, including an 0-of-6 from 3-point range. But 11 offensive rebounds in a 20-point, 17-rebound night from Alexander helped Syracuse pull away eventually.

Early on, it was evident that SU was going to struggle to score points inside. In an attempt to combat a Lafayette starting lineup that featured two players taller than 6 feet, 3 inches, Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman inserted 6-foot-3 center Shakeya Leary into the starting lineup to match that height.

But less than two minutes into the first half, dealing with Lafayette’s size was still a challenge for SU. After Alexander gathered a missed jumper, Lafayette forward Ashley Springer swung over to the cover her along with 6-foot-7 center Danielle Fiacco and latched onto the ball as Alexander attempted a putback.

The call was a jump ball and the Leopards took possession.

The height and strength in the Lafayette frontcourt stifled the Orange for much of the first half. Despite SU dominating both the offensive and defensive boards, the Leopards altered shots, forced numerous jump balls and limited the Orange to just 11 second-chance points in the first half.

‘We definitely had to battle, be more physical and try to shoot over them and not back away from them,’ Alexander said. ‘A few times I was told I was going away and I had to keep going towards the pressure and I think all of us did that.’

Syracuse never led by more than eight points in the first half. Even with all the offensive rebounds and follows inside, the Orange only shot eight free throws and led 31-30 at the break.

But all that changed in the second half.

Thirty-one seconds into the second half, SU guard Phylesha Bullard stole the ball and rushed up court for a fast-break layup. Although she missed the initial layup attempt, Hall trailed the play and finished for SU.

On SU’s next offensive possession, Tyson-Thomas gathered a loose ball and missed a short jumper. But Leary caught the rebound about 10 feet from the rim and nailed a jumper to push SU’s lead to 38-30.

‘We came out really good in the second half,’ Hillsman said. ‘I can’t really take credit for that second half because I really went in the locker room and said four or five things that I saw and I walked out and said, ‘You guys got to figure this out.”

Six of the Orange’s opening nine points in the second half were a result of taking advantage of offensive rebounds. Alexander grabbed six offensive rebounds in the second half and added 11 points in the final 20 minutes to pace the Orange.

The Orange’s strength on the glass began to wear down Lafayette and Syracuse began to draw fouls underneath the basket. Syracuse drew Lafayette’s seventh foul with 14:38 remaining in the second half, and the Orange got to the line for 16 free throws.

With SU pulling away, about midway through the first half, Tyson-Thomas missed a turnaround jumper, but she followed her shot. She darted to the basket, following with a left-handed layup to put SU on top 57-37, its largest lead of the game to that point.

The missed second-chance opportunities that plagued SU in the first half began to fall, and the Orange built a comfortable lead in the second half.

‘In the first half we were getting the ball, we were getting second chance (shots) but we weren’t making them, it was the finish,’ Tyson-Thomas said. ‘We went in the locker room, coach told us some things and we came out and we started finishing.’

adtredin@syr.edu

 

Published on November 19, 2011 at 12:00 pm