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While Felisha Legette-Jack had her jersey retired at halftime, Syracuse’s offense was unable to create some of the electricity that Legette-Jack did during her time on the women’s basketball team, failing to make several easy shots against Notre Dame. The Orange dropped their first game of the 2021 season, after defeating Monmouth last week.

Alaysia Styles led the Orange in points with 14, also recording six rebounds and one block. But SU was unable to stop the Fighting Irish’s Maddy Westbeld and Sam Brunelle, who finished with 19 points and 17 points, respectively.

Here are some observations from SU’s 82-56 loss to Notre Dame:

Playing against bigs

With only two forwards on its roster this season — Styles and Eboni Walker — Syracuse has had to adjust defensively, with shorter players going against some of the taller players on the opposition. Syracuse acting head coach Vonn Read said the Orange would play center by “committee,” instead of having one player designated to the role.

But Styles in particular was prepared for the challenge against Notre Dame, using her hustle play to dominate early. In the first half, she repeatedly fit into the center role for the Orange, posting up or receiving the ball on the outside.

“What helps up a lot is that Eboni and I in our previous schools have played out a lot, so this is our first year we’ve played inside more,” Styles said. “I think we can do a lot of things that we’ve done in the past.”

But in the second quarter, right before Styles stole an offensive rebound from a Notre Dame player, another Syracuse guard made an impact inside — Christianna Carr. After guard Najé Murray missed from deep, Christianna was there to get the rebound and put it back in to cut Notre Dame’s lead to four. Styles mimicked the same exact play on another missed floater from Murray later in the second quarter, cutting the Irish’s lead to two.

At the end of the third quarter, Walker finally started to make big plays for the Orange, halting a shot attempt from a Notre Dame player as time expired in the period. Walker finished with five rebounds and three points in the game.

No 3s, more problems

On Syracuse’s first possession of the game, Styles stole the ball from Notre Dame and commanded the offense off the fastbreak. Murray positioned herself a little bit to the left at the top of the key, getting the ball and drilling a 3-pointer. She was four steps behind the 3-point line.

But Murray’s early success was offset by an array of missed heaves from beyond the arc as the Orange went 2-for-10 from deep in the first quarter. Still, Read said Syracuse would try to spread the ball around the arc as much as possible this season in a “five out” system. In the second quarter, the Orange hit four more 3s but still went into halftime with a 22.2% percentage from deep.

In the second half, the Orange continued to shoot from deep, setting up players like Murray, Teisha Hyman and Chrislyn Carr for deep shots. But the Orange continued to struggle, mimicking their play from the first two periods in the latter two. SU finished 25% from the 3.

Styles in the paint

Styles changes the color of her hair every day, leaving a smiley face, which Murray drew, on the back. But during the game, Styles said she doesn’t “talk” much and instead uses her hustle play to separate her from the opposition.

Styles stayed in the paint throughout the game, moving around and forcing the opposition into confusion on most possessions. She was able to get rid of defenders on some of her teammates, allowing them to get open for shots. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, she helped Walker find a lane inside for a quick layup. On the next play, she batted the ball around in the air before securing it and sending the Orange in transition.

Styles continued to battle until Syracuse’s last few possessions in the game, taking the ball into the paint herself to try and create some offense. She faked to her right and then her left before sending a one-handed floater at the rim. But like the majority of Syracuse’s shots, it didn’t fall.

Turnover battle and speed

Read said Syracuse’s strength this season was going to be its ability to outrun opponents because of the lack of height in the roster. Styles has seen this work in scrimmages for the team so far, and the quick makeup of the team was something that she hadn’t seen before, she said.

“I think this is the first team I’ve played for whose motive is to just go fast and hope for the best,” Styles said. “Our first thing is to go fast and be a little bit chaotic, but kind of structured.”

This in particular meant Syracuse would be able to cause a lot of steals on defense, a skill that is displayed in the first half. At the start of the second quarter, Chrislyn stole the ball from the Fighting Irish before heading down the other side of the court. Her layup put the Orange down by only six, but they were never able to cut down on ND’s lead.

But in the second half, Syracuse stopped winning the 50-50 possessions and continued to make mistakes with mistimed passes into or out of the paint. Notre Dame, on the other hand, started playing more aggressive defense and marking up high against the Orange to prevent 3-point shots. This also helped the Fighting Irish cause turnovers — SU finished with 20 turnovers.

Published on November 14, 2021 at 2:18 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu