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Defense Picks Up The Slack

By Edward McFarland

Syracuse, NY – #18 Syracuse Women’s basketball team (22-6, 13-3 ACC) has finished the regular season on a nine game winning streak, as their focus is now set on the ACC Tournament. As the post-season approaches, the million dollar question is: What makes the Lady Orange a threat to winning the ACC tourney?

BIG QUESTION

Is it their smothering full court press that forces teams into an abundance of turnovers, or is it the senior guard Brianna Butler who can hit the three-ball from anywhere on the court?

“Our pressure is getting us a lot of points off turnovers,” Coach Quentin Hillsman said. “And you get your shooters making shots you’re going to be successful so I think it has to do with both.”

The Lady Orange lead the nation with 25 forced turnovers a game, and have averaged 26 forced turnovers during their nine game winning streak.

Though Butler’s shooting helps spread the floor and provides her teammates with opportunities to score, Butler believes the bread-n-butter for the team is their willingness to play defense.

“Our identity really is our defense,” Butler says. “We’re probably the only team in the entire country that presses the entire game.”

SCORING ISN’T ENOUGH

And even when teams do play a well-rounded game, it is not enough to overcome the Orange’s chokehold defense.

The Lady Seminoles head coach Sue Semrau said this after losing to Syracuse 83-73: “We had more field goals, we out rebounded them, we were 52-25 in the paint, but we just turned the ball over too much.”

That game Florida State had 28 turnovers that resulted into 21 points for the Lady Orange.

STATS CAN BE DECEIVING But, forcing 28 turnovers does not always mean the Lady Orange will coast to victory. On two occasions the Lady Orange have lost after forcing 28 turnovers.

Those loses came to Arizona State and Louisville. However, the Lady Orange field goal percentage remains consistent when they lose. In the six games the Lady Orange have lost they had a lower shooting percentage than their opponents. But, this stat can be deceiving because the Lady Orange have still found ways to win games when they shoot a lower field goal percentage than their opponents.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Lady Orange start tournament play tonight in the quarterfinals agaisnt NC State. However, no matter who they compete against, their chances of winning the ACC tournament rest on their defense. Their defense picks up the slack when they shoot poorly from the field, and when Brianna Butler and her teammates are making shots, their forced turnovers get them more shots.

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Orange Men Stop Moccasins in Exhibition Finale

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Florida Southern Moccasins traveled up north to face the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team in the Orange’s second and final exhibition game Sunday at the Carrier Dome. The Moccasins won the 2015 NCAA Division II championship, but that was soon forgotten as the Orange coasted to a 96-54 victory.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim said he was happy with the easy wins over Florida Southern and LeMoyne last Monday.

“The teams we’ve played have moved the ball, and did a lot of good things that we will see and will need to practice,” Boeheim said. “I thought we moved the ball well. We got a lot of good shots and good opportunities, especially early in the game. We made a lot of shots early. It was good.”

Defensive intensity

Syracuse started the game with a 30-5 run, but it was the defense that set the tone.

Florida Southern was forced into 16 turnovers in the first half, and when the half ended Syracuse was up 31 points.

“Overall our defense for the first 13 to 14 minutes was really good,” Boeheim said. “We were active and forced a lot of turnovers. We really didn’t give them any good looks.”

When the Moccasins weren’t turning the ball over, their offense still suffered as they forced up three-pointers in the effort to avoid a shot clock violation. The Moccasins finished the game 9-for-39 from three.

Their leading scorer was Senior guard Dominique Williams who scored 23 points.

  Syracuse starters

Syracuse’s stingy defense led to six players scoring in double digits.

Freshmen forward Malachi Richardson led the team in scoring with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three steals.

“Everyone on our team can score, everyone can rebound and pass,” Richardson said. “It helps out a lot. It spaces the floor out really well for us and gets us open shots.”

Trevor Cooney benefited greatly from the open shots Richardson talked about after the game.

In the second half Cooney made his presence felt scoring 10 of his 15 points. His bread and butter came from screens set near the baseline that set him up for open three-pointers and drives to the basket.

“I definitely want to continue to move on offense and come off as many screens as possible,” Cooney said. “If the play isn’t there we can swing to the other side and get another screen.”

Michael Gbinije and Tyler Roberson were the other the starters who scored in double-figures. Gbinijie had a quiet 14 points, and Roberson made shots inside the paint and around the perimeter to give himself ten.

The Bench

The bench scored 22 points in the first half. Half of those points were because of guard Kaleb Joseph, who provided an early spark for Syracuse as he went 3 for 3 from downtown in the first half.

“I worked real hard this summer” Joseph said.” I proved it to myself that I belong and I feel very confident when out there on the court.”

Last year Joseph was the starter, but Gbinije has replaced him this year. However, Joseph says he is not bothered by it he just wants to be consistent and provide energy.

Joseph finished with 13 points, and freshmanTyler Lydon gave some help off the bench with 12.

Future improvements

Reflecting on their two exhibition wins, defense is the area the Orange wants to improve on the most.

“We just have to continue to focus on defense and stopping teams,“ Cooney said. “Defense is going to make offense a lot easier for us. If were able to be a good 2-3 team were going to be in every game we play.”

The Orange officially starts the season this Friday, Nov. 13 in the Carrier Dome against Lehigh University at 7 p.m.

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My speech/testimony/encouragement to the high school graduates of 2015!

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Quest For The Championship Marshall, TX – On Saturday, #6 Wiley College’s Womens basketball team opened up the season in front of the homecoming crowd against the Lady Bleu Devils of Dillard University. After being selected #1 for the preseason poll and receiving their championship rings, the Lady Wildcats prove their preseason poll pick to be accurate as they rolled over the Lady Bleu Devils 85-58. The Lady Wildcats had Senior Kiera Oby lead the charge with 19tps; 3-for-4 from three; and 53% shooting from the field. Senior Kayla Brown dished out 5 assist, and Sophomore Jimelliah Price snagged 8 rebounds. The Lady Wildcats showed that the Lady Bleu Devils were no match. The Lady Wildcats smothered the Lady Bleu Devils with defense, forcing them into 32 total turnovers. While turning their defense into offense the Lady Wildcats had a team total of 18 assist that led to them shooting (7-for-15) from beyond the arc at 46%. When asked about the team’s long-term goal for the season, Coach Pruitt had this to say, “We’re trying to play the best defense we can and turn our defense into offense. Yes we run plays and go through things in practice, but you can’t win championships without defense.” The Lady Wildcats got off to a great start as they defeated the Lady Bleu Devils 85-58 and began their quest to win the championship. The Lady Wildcats are now 2-0 as they face the (1-1) Texas Wesleyan Lady Rams on the road November 5th.

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Off To A Good Start Marshall, TX – Coming off a conference title last season and receiving their championship rings before the game, Wiley College’s mens basketball faced Dillard University to open up the season on Saturday. The Wildcats did not disappoint the home crowd in attendance for homecoming, as they came out strong and gave Coach Hartsfield his first collegiate win as a head coach. Phillip Miller lead the charge with 19pts and 7 assist, and coming off the bench, the forward Patrick Gales grabbed 7 rebounds. The Wildcats had control throughout the whole game as they shot nearly 50% from the field in the 1st half after leading 39-35. Despite the Wildcats being out rebound by Dilllard, it was not enough for Dillard to get the lead. The Wildcats kept control of the game as they shot 50% from the field and ended the game with a 78-67 victory. “Our guys are hungry; especially the returning team. They want another ring because they figure last year’s team was senior heavy. They want to prove that it was not just seniors on the championship team and that the returners can get a ring also.”, Coach Hartsfield said about getting his players to buy into his system as a head coach, and after losing seniors from last year. The Wildcats are now 1-0 and will not start conference play until December 5th when they face Southwestern at New Mexico. However, the Wildcats next game is on the road against Southwestern Assemblies of God University on November 8th.

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Wildcat Rewind - Coach Aquino (10/24/14) Edward "E-Mc Stats" McFarland follows up with Wiley's Women soccer coach, Coach Aquino after beating the University of Texas at Brownsville 1-0.

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WACO, Texas – Rebecca Moustapha of Wiley College (Texas) earned recognition as the Red River Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for Sept. 15-21. Cassandra Valent of Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) was named RRAC Hitter of the Week, Tina Sekulic of the University of Texas-Brownsville as Setter of the Week, and Diana Castaneda of Wiley as the Libero of the Week for the same dates. This is the fourth set of weekly awards for the 2014 season. Moustapha, a junior middle blocker from Houston, piled up 30 kills and 10 blocks as the Wildcats started conference play with three victories. She achieved a hitting percentage of .463 for the week with only five errors in 54 total attacks. Moustapha reached a high of 13 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Jarvis Christian College (Texas) and hit nine kills to top Huston-Tillotson University (Texas). She is currently seventh in the RRAC in total blocks for the 8-11 Wildcats. Written by RRAC Associates