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At the end of the second quarter, Chrislyn Carr drove down the lane, creating enough space for a wide-open jumper. But instead of going back to the other side of the court, she immediately began pressing, stealing the ball back for another offensive possession.

As her teammates tried to make their way back from the other side of the court, Chrislyn took on two defenders in the lane, going airborne on the right side of the basket. While falling backwards, Chrislyn was able to get enough for it to fall, finishing the 3-point play from the free throw line to double Central Connecticut State’s total score.

In the final seconds of the half, Najé Murray had a wide-open lane in front of her, but she instead passed the ball to the hot hand, feeding Chrislyn for her second 3-pointer. Chrislyn sat at the left wing, watching the game clock inch toward zero, before heaving the ball. The buzzer sounded as her shot fell through, giving Syracuse 65 points in the first half — the most points all-time in the opening 20 minutes of a game for SU.

“Every single game, we trust each other a tiny bit more,” Murray said. “The ACC should be worried because by the time January comes around, we’re going to be a high-level basketball team.”

By the end of the afternoon, Syracuse set an all-time record for points in a single game, defeating Central Connecticut State 116-65. Despite the lack of depth on its eight-player active roster, SU was able to dominate, and six players finished with double-digit points. Murray passed 1,000 career points and Teisha Hyman finished with a triple double consisting of 27 points, 15 assists and 11 steals.

The Orange started hot on offense, ending their first possession with a Murray 3-pointer from the top of the key. Hyman scored on a pull up jumper on the ensuing possession before Syracuse went back to Murray for a deep look. Although Murray missed, she was able to get her own rebound and find a cutting Chrislyn for another score.

“Coming (into the season), everybody knew that we were able to shoot individually, but how we were going to put that together was going to be the biggest question,” Christianna Carr said.

Hyman said that the steep increase in the Orange’s ability to put everything together with team chemistry has been “scary,” and completely different from what was expected of the team. Hyman is only one of three players that stayed on Syracuse’s roster from last season, and she wasn’t even on the court for all of last season due to an ACL tear.

“We all want to see each other do good and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Hyman said. “This is a new team, we’re only nine games into the season.”

The offense continued to click for the Orange throughout the rest of the first quarter from deep, but defensively Syracuse’s size was exposed. CCSU’s 6-foot-2 Ashley Berube went inside on almost every possession, working against shorter SU defenders in the post.

Chrislyn Carr and Syracuse used a full-court press to create turnovers and offense. Elizabeth Billman | Senior Staff Photographer

By moving through a variety of post moves, Berube was able to create space and score 10 points in the opening period. But the Orange were able to mitigate Berube’s success through tough defense, sending as many as three players at Berube to get rid of her space.

Syracuse started to find more answers offensively at the start of the second quarter by attacking the basket instead of shooting from deep. The Orange spread the scoring inside as well, getting three straight layups from Murray, Hyman and Alaina Rice to extend their lead to 21.

With a lack of depth at the center position because of Eboni Walker’s “day-to-day” status, SU had to turn to Rice inside. At one point, Rice missed but got her own rebound, sinking another shot off the glass. She finished with seven rebounds and 13 points.

“Every day I’m going to push them and every day I hope they push me to be great,” Rice said about continuing her and the team’s success. “We need to keep going.”

Murray also passed the 1,000-point mark in the second quarter. Alaysia Styles made a steal directly after the inbounds, allowing Murray to stay near the basket for an easy layup to get to 1,001 career points. She dished the ball out a couple of possessions later, giving Chrislyn the opportunity to hit the buzzer-beater that solidified the school record for single-game points.

But at the start of the second half, the Blue Devils weren’t fading away, continuing to shoot from deep. Still, the Orange answered on every offensive possession at the beginning of the third quarter, including a score off a behind-the-back pass from Hyman.

Syracuse continued its full-court press for the rest of the game, helping Hyman finish with 11 steals. Hyman said her success has come from the relationship she has with Murray and Chrislyn, who help her anchor the top of the zone in the press.

The Orange eventually moved away from the full-court press, allowing the Blue Devils to set up their offense and hit three more 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Still, SU was able to create turnovers without the press, collapsing or double-teaming players that tried to go inside the lane.

Midway through the final period, Nyah Wilson and Hyman double-teamed a CCSU player, allowing Hyman to steal the ball for the 11th time. Hyman found Wilson in transition, but she missed her attempt from deep. Instead, Ava Irvin was able to get the rebound, pulling up from midrange to get the Orange to 100 points — the first time Syracuse has scored more than 100 since 2016 — and solidifying its win.

“They can never ever erase that,” Murray said about breaking the all-time single-game scoring record. “We’re forever written in history, and we’re going to take that.”

Published on December 5, 2021 at 4:04 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu