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After a 28-day pause due to COVID-19 protocol, Syracuse played its second game in just three days against North Carolina. SU has three scheduled games this week, playing No. 1 Louisville in Kentucky on Thursday, followed by a game at Clemson on Sunday.

After losing to UNC earlier this season in Chapel Hill – Syracuse’s only loss of the season – Syracuse won the rematch 88-76. Here are three takeaways from Syracuse’s victory over North Carolina.

Strong offensive rebounding

Unlike Syracuse’s first game against the Tar Heels when UNC outrebounded the Orange 51-43, SU dominated on the glass, finishing with 50 rebounds. Freshman Kamilla Cardoso finished with a career-high 16 rebounds while fellow first-year starter Priscilla Williams was third on the team, with nine boards. On one possession in the second quarter, Williams recovered four straight misses before finishing through contact to push Syracuse’s lead to 28-24.

Syracuse boxed out and prioritized scoring in the paint effectively throughout the game. That led to UNC interior defenders being forced to defend, rather than box out, defenders. 

Syracuse’s wings, such as Williams and Digna Strautmane, were able to pick up easy, loose-ball rebounds and bat rebounds outside to Tiana Mangakahia at the top of the key with post players prioritized.

Janelle Bailey has another big game

After scoring just eight points in the first half, North Carolina senior center Janelle Bailey scored 10 straight points for UNC in the third quarter to take the lead. After Syracuse clogged passing lanes to Bailey in the first half, the senior was able to find openings in the zone.

Rather than trying to post up Cardoso in the paint, Bailey began shooting midrange jumpers. After knocking down four straight midrange shots, with Cardoso slow to react, Syracuse began to strengthen its defensive focus on Bailey. While most of Bailey’s third quarter scoring ceased, her presence allowed teammates such as Alyssa Ustby and Stephanie Watts to hit wide-open threes.

Against Cardoso, the undersized Bailey was able to use quick steps to navigate around Cardoso and toward the basket. SU’s highly touted freshman was also slow to react to Bailey’s jump shooting ability, reluctant to leave the paint and defend. That led to 14 third-quarter points for North Carolina’s senior big.

Three-point parade

Both Syracuse and North Carolina were excessively firing from deep. As the clock winded down in the final quarter, Mangakahia inbounded to Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi before taking the ball back and firing a corner three, while Djaldi-Tabdi set a screen to retake the lead, 71-69. 

Just over a minute later, UNC’s Watts answered with a transition three from the left wing to cut SU’s lead to just one. But on Syracuse’s next possession, Kiara Lewis nailed her third three of the game to again push SU’s lead to two possessions. 

After tying a Dome record with 17 3’s against Miami on Sunday, SU finished shooting 9-22 from distance, and UNC also hit a high clip, converting on 43.8% of its 3’s. Watts went 3-6 from three for the Tar Heels after missing her last 20 attempts before Tuesday, keeping UNC head coach Courtney Banghart’s team within striking distance after a strong third quarter.

Published on January 19, 2021 at 2:12 pm

Contact Thomas: tgshults@syr.edu | @ThomasShults_