Syracuse managed to get off to a good start in the first quarter. The Orange shot 45% from the field and held St. Joesph’s to just 35% from the FG. The Orange dominated 16-4 points in paint which got them a 22-14 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter wasn’t great for the Orange as they committed five turnovers. Syracuse struggled to defend the three-point line as the Hawks found many good looks.
Syracuse gave up five three-pointers and allowed the Hawks to shoot 50% behind the arc. The Orange trailed by three heading into halftime.
Problems on 3-point defense continued into the third quarter. Syracuse was outscored 51-29 between the second and third quarters. The Orange trailed by as much as 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse shot the ball well from the floor at 46% but committed 21 turnovers in the game. The Hawks managed to turn that into 27 points.
'Cuse allowed Saint Joseph's to shoot 53.8% from behind the arc for the game. Tayla Brugler and Mackenzie Smith combined to make 10 of the 14 3-pointers made by Saint Joseph’s.
Senior captain Georgia Woolley says poor communicate led to the poor defensive performance.
“We knew how we needed to come out and defend, we didn’t do that. We didn’t communicate well enough, so we’ll get better at that,” said Woolley.
Coach Felisha Legette-Jack was displeased with the defensive performance tonight.
“We didn’t give our best effort, in my opinion, to keep it real, the best time won tonight. We have to be back to the basics and continue to get better daily,” said Coach Jack. “Giving up 84 points to anybody, I don’t care if it’s the Lakers, that’s not what we do. And when you do that’s a recipe for disaster.”
Syracuse moves on to 1-1 on the season with a meeting against Maryland for the third straight home game on Nov. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the JMA Dome.