At some point in the third quarter, Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman ditched his sport coat, leaving just an untucked white dress shirt with the top two buttons open.

SU’s seven third quarter turnovers – and just four made baskets — warranted its coach’s frustration, and Hillsman saw a four-point deficit balloon to 11. A 10-3 Hurricanes run to open the second half foreshadowed more lopsided play to come.

“They came out man-to-man, and we just didn’t come out and execute,” assistant coach Vonn Read told WAER postgame. “They capitalized on those turnovers.”

In a game in which both teams played a fast-paced, pressing style, the one that created more open looks from 3 and protected the ball earned a clear edge. Throughout Sunday’s matchup against Miami (10-6, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) in Coral Gables, Syracuse (8-7, 2-2) was slow closing out on Hurricane shooters, and lead guard Kiara Lewis committed a season-high nine turnovers.

The Orange couldn’t keep up with the red-hot Hurricanes, who shot 40% from behind the arc and 51.9% overall to hand SU a 77-62 loss. Miami’s 77 points is the most Syracuse has allowed in a non-overtime game since then-No. 3 Stanford scored 77 on Nov. 29.

Miami opened the game on a 10-2 run as Syracuse struggled to locate Hurricane shooters. Miami shot SU out of its zone with three quick triples, forcing the Orange to play man-to-man.

In the second quarter, the Orange returned to their 2-3 zone, and Miami made them pay once again. The Hurricanes went 2-for-3 in the second period, including a Mykea Gray corner 3 with 10 seconds left in the half. Miami shot 60% from 3 in the first half to gain a 35-31 halftime advantage.

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Syracuse stayed competitive in the first half thanks to a boost from freshman guard Teisha Hyman, who came off the bench and hit her first five shots. Hyman, who suffered a medial meniscus tear over the summer that slowed her progression this season, scored a season-high 15 points.

“She’s a special player,” Read said. “She can really get it going.”

In the first half, Hyman scored in transition, off catch-and-shoots and on the offensive glass, but only recorded two points in the second half.

Miami continued to drain 3s in the third quarter, hitting its first two attempts. The Hurricanes turned seven SU turnovers into nine points, and Hyman cooled off. SU had no answer for Gray and Kelsey Marshall, who combined for 41 points on 7-for-15 from deep.

On one possession in the fourth quarter, quick passing around the perimeter produced a wide-open 3 in the corner that Gabrielle Cooper was late to challenge. The shot missed, but an offensive rebound produced another open 3 and later a putback lay-in.

Out of a timeout later in the fourth, Miami’s Marshall finished a layup, then Gray stole SU’s inbound pass and converted another. The sequence gave Miami a 70-51 lead, their largest of the afternoon.

Seventeen of Syracuse’s 20 turnovers came from playmakers Lewis and Emily Engstler.

Miami’s press baited SU into errant passes, and the Orange allowed fast-break layups. A Miami hail-mary inbound pass to Endia Banks gave the Hurricanes an easy two, and a putback lay-in off a press break on the next possession kept the Orange at bay.

Syracuse aims to make 10 3s per game, or at least make more than its opponent Hillsman said on Dec. 4. On Sunday, the Orange did neither.

Before the loss to Miami, Syracuse won back-to-back overtime games at home. They return to the Carrier Dome on Jan. 16 for a matchup with Georgia Tech.

Published on January 12, 2020 at 2:32 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman