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Two minutes into the second quarter, Priscilla Williams took the transition pass from Tiana Mangakahia on the left wing and hesitated, deciding whether to shoot a three. She decided against it and drove to the hoop, crossing underneath and putting up a shot on the right side of the basket.

The freshman’s shot missed, but she collected the rebound. She went back up against two defenders. Her shot trickled off the side of the rim. Williams grabbed the ball and leapt for a third time. As she caromed off of a UNC defender, she fell to the baseline. Her shot did the same. With Williams on the ground, teammate Emily Engstler took her place in rebounding position. 

Engstler couldn’t grab the errant shot but was able to block off two UNC defenders as the rebound trickled to Williams, who was sprawled on the floor. After two more shots and one more board, Williams finally banked a hard shot off the glass and into the hoop, extending SU’s lead to 28-23.

After losing earlier in the season to North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the Orange’s 50 rebounds led No. 23 Syracuse (7-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast) to an 88-76 victory in a rematch against UNC (7-5, 2-5). Freshman Kamilla Cardoso pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds while Engstler grabbed a season-high 13. For the first time since a 2011 victory over St. Francis, three Syracuse players finished with double-doubles. Williams came a rebound away from making it four.

“We matched up a lot, so that really took away (UNC center) Janelle Bailey being able to get into the lane and rebound,” Mangakahia said. “We knew we had to box her out, so I think that definitely helped us.”

In SU’s early season loss to North Carolina, Bailey torched Syracuse for a season-high 25 points and eight rebounds. But on Tuesday, Mangakahia said Syracuse played more man-to-man defense to counteract the preseason All-ACC center. By not playing as much of head coach Quentin Hillsman’s usual zone defense, Syracuse didn’t have holes in the paint.

Increased focus on boxing-out allowed SU to tie its season-high 50 rebounds in ACC play, which it also recorded in a win against Miami on Dec. 10.

In SU’s first game against the Tar Heels, Hillsman’s squad relied heavily on shots from 3, shooting 36 times from behind the arc. But on Tuesday, Syracuse attempted just 22 3’s, its second lowest total in a conference game this season. Rather than hoisting from deep, SU drove to the basket often. 

With a minute remaining in the first quarter, Mangakahia conducted a pick-and-roll with Cardoso. After the 6-foot-7 post player screened two UNC defenders, she ran toward the basket. Rather than follow Cardoso, both defenders stuck to Mangakahia, who quickly delivered a bounce pass to Cardoso. After a wide-open layup, Syracuse retook a one point lead. 

Even when Syracuse players missed from close range, they forced the attention of UNC’s bigs such as Bailey. With North Carolina focused on defending the rim, Syracuse players easily positioned themselves for offensive rebounds and putbacks. 

Whether Cardoso was shooting or demanding the attention of UNC bigs, SU wings Williams and Digna Strautmane were able to cut to the rim without being boxed out. Both finished with six offensive rebounds and were major contributors to SU’s 46 points in the paint. 

“Our kids came out with a sense of urgency,” Hillsman said. “I told them we’ve got to win this game. We got very hostile. We got to go and play tough and be aggressive.”

But aggressiveness on the glass wasn’t the only reason Hillsman’s squad outrebounded UNC by 14 after losing the rebounding battle in Chapel Hill last month. 

North Carolina head coach Courtney Banghart used the 6-foot-4 Bailey differently than she had in the first matchup. Rather than staying in the paint and working from the low blocks, Bailey often stood in the middle of Syracuse’s zone, dissecting soft spots such as the free throw line. 

Just 1:30 into the game, Bailey received a pass at the charity stripe with Cardoso entrenched on the low blocks. The senior quickly wheeled around and nailed a jumper, with Cardoso’s contest coming too late.

Bailey was the central figure in UNC’s comeback in the third quarter, scoring 10 consecutive Tar Heels points. As soon as North Carolina guards passed midcourt, they were looking to find Bailey for uncontested 15 foot jumpers. On back-to-back possessions, Bailey received a pass from Stephanie Watts, then Alyssa Ustby. 

Before Cardoso could run to contest, Bailey fired her shots, extending UNC’s lead to seven.

But while Bailey’s flurry of scoring quickly increased UNC’s lead, Hillsman seemed content with Banghart’s offensive strategy.

“They played her a lot at the high post this game,” Hillsman said. “So they really pulled her away from the basket for us, which was great for us.”

Generally, an opponent making four straight baskets isn’t a good sign. But Hillsman said Syracuse was “hurt” most when the Tar Heels ran a 1-3-1 offense, putting Bailey on the low blocks, fighting for rebounds against SU’s forwards. 

With Bailey, who averages nearly nine rebounds a game, playing away from the basket, she only finished with five rebounds. Instead Watts, a 5-foot-11 guard, led the Heels with six boards. 

That benefitted four SU players, all over 6 feet, who grabbed a combined 45 rebounds. With UNC’s length away from the rim, and SU swarming the iron, Syracuse took advantage of a switch in Tar Heels strategy.

“(Bailey) really hurt us when she was down, when they played that 1-3-1 and they converted and had her on the block,” Hillsman said. “Instead, she was popping to the high post, and we had forwards guarding her. So that was a difference in the game. She wasn’t close to the basket.”

Published on January 19, 2021 at 4:38 pm

Contact Thomas: tgshults@syr.edu | @ThomasShults_