Observations from No. 17 Syracuse’s win over Pittsburgh: King’s presence, 4th quarter breakout
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Syracuse was riding high on a five-game winning streak with convincing wins over Miami and Virginia when it hosted Duke Thursday. The Orange had the chance to seal a double bye in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. But what followed was Syracuse’s worst offensive performance of the season as it fell 58-45 against the Blue Devils`.
After being stifled against the best defense in the ACC, the Orange got a bit of an easier matchup Sunday versus Pittsburgh. The Panthers haven’t beaten SU since 2005 and are the second-worst team in the conference.
What seemed to be an easy matchup on paper soon turned into a slugfest. The Orange struggled in the first half, shooting less than 30% from the field. Syracuse trailed by as much as 11 in the third, but it fought back.
Through Dyaisha Fair’s scoring down the stretch and lockdown defense, Syracuse clawed back into the game. And despite all its shortcomings through the first 30 minutes, the Orange came back to win.
Here are some observations from No. 17 Syracuse’s (23-5, 13-4 ACC) 63-53 win over Pittsburgh (8-21, 2-14 ACC):
Top 5 Fair
Fair entered Sunday five points away from entering the NCAA All-Time top-five scoring list. The point guard trailed Brittney Griner’s 3,283 points at Baylor from 2009-2013. Fair had the chance to break into the top five Thursday, but Duke held her to just 7-for-25 from the field and 22 points. Against Pitt, beyond any unforeseen circumstances, she was going to climb the rankings.
It took her a little longer than expected, but Fair hit the mark with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Fair received the ball at the top of the key before accelerating forward and using an acrobatic finish over Liatu King down low to get her over Griner’s mark.
Although Fair entered the top five, she struggled to get there. The bucket to help her rise in the scoring ranks was just her second field goal on nine attempts. Fair’s shot seemed to be off throughout as her 3-pointers fell short. She went just 1-for-6 from deep in the first half and SU’s offense struggled as a result.
Fair had just eight points through three quarters but then took over down the stretch. Despite just a 7-for-21 effort from the field, Fair scored 15 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter.
Shooting woes continue
Against Duke, Syracuse struggled mightily to shoot the ball, hitting just 25% of its shots. To say SU’s struggles continued Sunday would be an understatement. The Orange went just 4-for-16 in the first quarter and struggled to generate easy looks. Sophie Burrows hit a corner 3-pointer with 2:31 left in the first quarter to tie the game 14-14.
For the next eight and a half minutes, Syracuse proceeded to miss every shot it took. Fair tried her luck at the end of the first quarter but only took one shot during the drought in the second. The Orange looked out of sorts on the offensive end trying to decipher Pittsburgh’s zone. 3-point efforts from Burrows, Georgia Woolley and Alaina Rice all missed the mark.
Woolley finally broke the drought with 3:54 remaining in the second quarter with a 3 — sparking a personal 8-0 run. But SU shot just 8-for-30 in the first half against Pitt.
At times this season, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack has lamented her team for shooting too many 3-pointers. Sunday, more than half of SU’s attempts (16) over the first two quarters were from deep, resulting in just a 25% clip from range. The shooting struggles persisted in the second half and the Orange finished the game just 19-for-58 from the field and 7-for-27 from 3.
King thrives again
King gave SU a whole lot of trouble in the first matchup on Jan. 21 where she scored 27 points on 12-for-19 shooting from the field. She once again had a strong outing against the Orange with 29 points on 11-for-24 shooting.
The forward is Pittsburgh’s go-to option on the offensive end with 18.6 points per game — the only Panther who averages double figures. She often went to work in the high post receiving the ball and facing up her defender.
Even if King didn’t get shots to go, she was getting to the charity stripe. King did very well to use her body and absorb contact from SU defenders and shot eight free throws on the day.
After a bit of a quiet start to the second half, King started going to work. With Pitt leading by six in the third quarter, King received a pass in the paint and spun off Burrows for an easy bucket. On back-to-back possessions later in the third King scored in the paint. On the second bucket, she was fouled as she scored seven points in a row for the Panthers who led 49-38 at that point.
4th quarter breakout
Syracuse entered the fourth quarter trailing by eight, a position it has consistently been in this season. On plenty of occasions, SU has shown an uncanny ability to come back from what seemed to be insurmountable deficits. In back-to-back games in January versus Clemson and Florida State, SU came back from deficits of 18 and 19, respectively.
On Sunday, Syracuse played some of its worst basketball through three quarters. But similar to other times this season, that didn’t matter. Fair started to get going at the start of the fourth with six straight points after just eight through the first three quarters. Fair’s floater with 7:30 left cut Pitt’s lead to 49-47.
Following a bucket from Burrows, Woolley pressured Pitt into a 10-second violation. Pittsburgh head coach Tory Verdi argued on the sideline and received a technical foul, though Fair missed the ensuing free throws. Fair attempted to tie the game with less than three minutes left, but her shot rolled off the rim. Alyssa Latham was there to pull in the offensive board and finished through contact for an and-one. The free throw then gave SU its first lead since 2-0.
After King gave Pitt back the lead, Fair drilled a triple from the top of the key and then finished a mid-range pull-up. As she’s done all season, Fair took over down the stretch. She scored 15 of Syracuse’s 24 points in the fourth quarter and simply refused to let the Orange lose. After two free throws from Fair to put SU up six, Syracuse forced a five-second violation on the ensuing out-of-bounds play, all but sealing the victory.
