Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Liatu King’s layup with 35 seconds left tied the game but still gave Syracuse the opportunity to answer on the other end.

With the rest of SU’s starters struggling throughout the game, Teisha Hyman took the ball up for the Orange. Using the strategy that got her to the free-throw line six times on Sunday afternoon, Hyman drove to the left side of the basket as Jayla Everett trailed her.

But instead of drawing the foul, Hyman hesitated as if she was going up for a layup, spinning backwards in the paint. Rita Igbokwe was in the vicinity of Hyman, but the guard elevated over the outstretched hands of both Everett and Igbokwe for the game-winning jumper.

“All I was thinking about was don’t turn the ball over and just score,” Hyman said postgame.

Despite allowing 44 points in the paint, the Orange picked up a 67-65 win over the Panthers behind Hyman’s career-high 31 points on Sunday. Alaysia Styles added 21 points, but Hyman’s 10 makes from the field and 11 successful shots from the free-throw line were the deciding factors as Syracuse’s defense failed to stop Pittsburgh’s bigs.

Hyman has been inconsistent throughout the season, as she’s struggled against strong defenses taking away her shot but flourished versus weaker opponents who allow her to work in isolation. She’s averaging 15.6 points per game after missing all of last season due to a torn ACL.

“Before the season, I was just going to be excited to see Teisha be able to play some minutes and be able to display her game,” acting head coach Vonn Read said. “She’s a very talented scorer. She can do a lot of things other girls can’t.”

Early against Pittsburgh, Hyman allowed her teammates to take looks that she would’ve usually taken on her own. Still, for the first points of the game, Hyman was able to drag Pittsburgh’s defense toward her and find Styles at the top of the key for a 3-pointer.

But Styles’ shot was one of only two makes the Orange made from deep throughout the entire game. As Najé Murray, Chrislyn Carr and Christanna Carr missed from beyond the arc, Hyman started to take the game into her own hands.

Following a layup from Igbokwe with less than seven minutes into the first quarter, the ball fell on the ground off a missed layup from Emy Hayford, which Styles was able to fall upon. Still on the floor, Styles sent the ball to Hyman near half court, and as Pittsburgh’s defense tried to catch up with Hyman, she used her speed to get to near the free-throw line before pulling up for her first points of the game.

Hyman was taken out late in the first quarter after picking up a second foul and was replaced by Alaina Rice until three minutes into the second period. When she returned to the game, Hyman continued her successful isolation game.

“Teisha is our best one-on-one player that can go get the bucket — we just get the ball in her hands,” Read said. “They were putting a few defenders on her, but it didn’t matter.”

With three minutes left in the second quarter, Amber Brown turned the ball over to the Orange. Chrislyn quickly gave the ball to Hyman, who scored from midrange to put the Orange within five.

Pittsburgh responded, but Hyman rushed back to the other side of the court to set up Syracuse’s offense once again. The Panthers had started to key in on Hyman, so she bounced the ball to Rice for a layup as Dayshanette Harris surrounded her in the paint.

But in the second half, the Orange continued to allow Pittsburgh to get inside. While they were finally able to get defenders in front of the Panthers’ players, they started to pump fake on shots, sending Hyman flying as Harris finished at the rim. The Panthers’ quickly extended their three-point halftime lead to as large as nine midway through the third.

The Orange didn’t score a field goal for seven minutes in the fourth quarter, but Hyman ended that streak with the game-winning shot. During the shot before the drought, Hyman positioned herself just left of the top of the key as Styles came to set a screen for her.

Styles was left wide-open after the pick, but Hayford was slow on her switch to guarding Hyman. Seeing this, Hyman faked driving toward the basket and elevated from the right elbow. Her shot was a little high, but after hitting the back and front of the rim, it fell through the bottom of the net.

“Alaysia did a really good job of setting some good ball screens and getting Teisha separated to make those plays,” Read said.

During the Orange’s scoring drought, however, Hyman was able to get to the line three times, connecting on all six of her attempts. Hyman started to attack the basket instead of just faking and pulling up for a jumper.

“They switched on everything. We had Styles setting the ball screen, which left me with the midrange open,” Hyman said. “They started hedging up, and I think it was just hard to guard.”

Once she was in the paint, Hyman threw her body into Hayford, Taisha Exanor and finally Brown. Hyman’s last two free throws after the foul from Brown tied the game at 63-63, allowing Syracuse to call a timeout, ultimately resulting in the play that won the game.

Published on February 13, 2022 at 4:38 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu