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In 10 minutes, Syracuse’s one-point lead against No. 17 Duke turned into a 12-point deficit.

At the end of the first quarter, Chrislyn Carr’s buzzer-beating, mid-range shot gave SU the advantage following five lead changes in the opening period. But Syracuse’s 2-3 zone and full-court press faltered in the second quarter, and the offense was unable to score effectively despite eight offensive rebounds. Following seven forced turnovers in the opening period, SU only forced one in the second. It entered halftime trailing 40-28, scoring just 10 points in the second quarter.

“As they start to get a run, we get antsy and take quicker shots,” Christianna Carr said postgame. “With good teams like Duke, they utilize those (runs) and you have a couple of possessions where they make a shot, you miss a shot. And then by the time you make one shot it’s already a 6-2 run.”

Syracuse (8-7, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) was unable to gain a lead for the rest of the game, eventually falling in a 74-65 loss to No.17 Duke (11-2, 2-1 ACC). After dropping two straight ACC games, the Orange struggled against another conference foe, despite winning the rebounding battle 47-35. Teisha Hyman led all players with 23 points, but the Blue Devils bench scored 24 more points than SU’s, and the Orange shot just 31.9% despite firing their second-most field attempts in a single game this season.

The Blue Devils struck first Sunday, but Syracuse fought back through its full-court press, keeping Hyman as the anchor to force quick turnovers. Miela Goodchild made her way past Hyman with less than eight minutes left in the opening period, but Hyman popped the ball out from behind, setting up Najé Murray for the Orange’s first made 3. Midway through the first quarter, the Orange already had three steals.

Alaina Rice forced the Orange’s fourth steal, but she missed on the fastbreak. Still, with the ball in Syracuse’s possession, Christianna set up from the right wing and found the bottom of the net, cutting the Blue Devils lead down to one.

Rice was in the game in place of Hyman, and also took her spot at the top of the full-court press. Chrislyn poked the ball out standing to the left of Rice, passing to Murray for an easy layup. On the Orange’s next possession, Chrislyn pulled up for a deep 2, scoring from the left wing before beating the buzzer on a pullup jumper.

But at the start of the second quarter, Duke was able to break through the Orange’s full-court press with Celeste Taylor as its facilitator. Acting head coach Vonn Read said the biggest issue for the Orange was that even if they made good defensive plays, they weren’t able to turn them into offense.

“We had a couple of breakdowns defensively,” Read said. “We were getting some pretty decent looks, we just couldn’t knock them down, but that happens.”

In the second half, the defensive problems stopped momentarily as Duke missed several open shots and committed turnovers. But the Orange were unable to score enough on their own offensive end, with Duke recording two blocks in the opening three minutes of the second half.

Hyman hit the Orange’s first two shots in the third quarter, first connecting on an open look from deep before driving inside for a runner. She continued to work in isolation, trying to draw fouls by driving inside, but couldn’t find the bottom of the net.

Despite having one of the worst defensive rebounding rates nationally, Syracuse made an impact on the glass, which proved crucial as it tried to cut into its deficit in the third quarter. Alaysia Styles, the Orange’s de facto center and rebounding leader, tipped the ball off a missed shot to Chrislyn with less than five minutes left in the period, and Chrislyn found Christianna in the left corner for a wide-open 3-pointer to get SU within seven.

Later, after Hyman hit two free throws, Syracuse returned to its full-court press, pressuring Shayeann Day-Wilson. The Blue Devils were able to beat the press and score, but the Orange continued to trust Hyman with the offensive keys, allowing her to score and keep Duke’s lead at just five.

“When Teisha’s in attack mode, she can kind of carry you a little bit,” Read said. “You go with the hot hand and you go with the people that can attack and I thought she did a really good job of that.”

With two more free throws, Hyman got the Orange within three, but they were unable to keep the momentum as several defensive issues emerged. Goodchild started to get open from deep, positioning herself at the left wing for two makes from beyond the arc. In the last two minutes of the third quarter, the Blue Devils extended their lead back to double digits.

In the fourth quarter, the Orange continued to run their offense through Hyman, who scored six points in the period. But the Blue Devils kept control of the game, running down the shot clock on every possession as Syracuse tried to push the pace.

With four minutes left in the game, Christianna was fouled, giving the Orange another chance to inbound and score. Hyman received the ball, giving it to Styles at the right elbow.

But as Styles went forward, she forgot to take an initial dribble before moving. Two minutes later, Hyman got the ball at the top of the key with a wide-open 3-point attempt. But she elected to pass to a cutting Rice, throwing the ball too hard, and it rolled out of bounds, costing the Orange another attempt to cut down on the Blue Devils’ expanding lead.

“Eventually we’re going to knock down shots and it’s going to be painful for the other team,” Christianna said. “It’s just not our time right now.”

Published on January 9, 2022 at 4:41 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu