Syracuse’s depth ‘play off each other’ in dominant win over Binghamton

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Dyaisha Fair was perfectly aware that there was under 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The point guard slowed her attack and retreated toward the right sideline, drawing a defender with her. A few seconds later, Teisha Hyman darted toward the right elbow and called for the ball.

Hyman hesitated and faked going right before spinning to her left, letting go of a teardrop toward the hoop as the buzzer sounded. Hyman’s momentum took her toward Syracuse’s bench as the ball rattled around the rim. It dropped in, putting Syracuse up 73-38.

It was the team play, like the possession to end the third quarter, between all of SU’s players that powered Syracuse (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) to a dominant 92-59 victory over Binghamton (2-1, 0-0 America East). SU’s quick pace of play, smothering defense and inside presence were key to continue its unbeaten start to the season.

“I think it was just our intensity that we played with today,” Hyman said. “We did a good job of forcing a lot of turnovers and that translated into offense and fast breaks.”

Syracuse’s suffocating ball pressure and quick feet forced Binghamton into uncomfortable situations from tip-off. Facing a tenacious SU defense, the Bearcats turned the ball over nine times in the opening quarter alone, gifting the Orange seven fast break points.

At the four-minute mark in the first quarter, Hyman picked the pocket of Denai Bowman as she attempted a crossover dribble. One of three steals tonight, Hyman went coast-to-coast, faking out Clare Traeger on a three-on-two fast break before finishing with her left. The bucket was part of a 15-0 run that started with Syracuse down 10-9. The quarter ended 24-10 in favor of SU.

On the defensive side, Syracuse’s game plan was simple: force Binghamton away from the middle and to the sidelines. Playing a mixture of man and zone defense, SU’s guards would choose a side, disallowing the Binghamton players to drive anywhere but the corners. And that’s when SU’s front court would step up to trap.

With just two minutes gone in the second quarter, Dariauna Lewis deflected an attempted pass right into the hands of Alaina Rice. Rice took a dribble and looked up to see Fair streaking down the court.

Rice threw an outlet pass with pinpoint accuracy right into Fair’s lap, and Fair took two steps before laying the ball in for two points. Even when the possession didn’t end in a turnover for Binghamton, Syracuse was quick to capitalize off of missed shots.

Standout performances again from Syracuse’s backcourt tandem of Hyman and Fair were helped by contributions from Rice and Nyah Wilson. Wilson finished with seven points in 14 minutes — the longest time she’s seen the court in a singular game this season. Coming off of a 16-point performance the game prior, Rice made another case for why she’s been so essential in the Orange’s success on the break.

With 30 seconds left in the half, Rice rebounded the ball and sprinted down the court. It didn’t take her long to throw a pass to Kennedi Perkins, who was already positioned at the opposition’s free-throw line.

The pass deflected off the back of a Binghamton player, but after a brief scramble for the ball, Perkins retrieved possession and lofted the ball into the basket. Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack has preached over the course of the first two games of the season that she wouldn’t mind if the Orange turned the ball over, as long as they were playing fast. This time, although dangerous, SU’s swift offensive execution resulted in success.

“We play free,” Legette-Jack said. “We play off each other and we don’t really care who gets the credit as long as Syracuse scores higher than its opponents.”

Halfway through the third quarter, Rice looked for the same play after collecting a Binghamton airball for her eighth rebound of the night. Again, it took Rice a quick glance up to see that Fair was ahead of the pack. Rice heaved a pass to Fair, who caught it and slowed down as if to wait for the defender to catch up to her.

As Fair neared the basket, she jumped and faked a layup attempt, passing the ball behind her head to a wide-open Hyman, who was trailing her on the play. All Hyman had to do was put the ball in, uncontested, to extend SU’s lead.

When Syracuse wasn’t stealing the ball or beating the Bearcats down the court, the Orange were dominating in the paint. The strength and height of the SU players that had given them the edge in their first two matchups of the season translated perfectly into this one, allowing them to score 68 points in the paint.

Three minutes remained in the first half when Saniaa Wilson got her first offensive look with the smaller Anna Long between her and the basket. Wilson held the ball, waiting for the defensive help to clear out around her before she began her dribble. Suddenly, Wilson spun, a move too quick for Long to react to, and put up a shot attempt with Long’s arm draped around her body. The referee whistled for a foul as Wilson’s shot fell through the basket to put Syracuse up by 19.

With a little under four minutes left in the third quarter, Lewis caught the ball in the corner. She jabbed at her defender, Genevieve Coleman, and pump-faked once to get Coleman in the air. Lewis then drove, taking Coleman with her and pushing her deeper into the paint. A few dribbles later and Lewis was directly under the basket.

Lewis jumped, bumping into Coleman and drew the foul as she laid the ball up into the net and nodded her head with enthusiasm. Walking to the free throw line, Lewis calmly lined up her shot and entered her routine before sinking the extra-point for her 14th point of the night.

Entering the fourth quarter, Syracuse was already up 35 in a matchup that had been out of reach by the last few moments of the first quarter. Although outscored 21-19 in the final quarter, Syracuse’s presence in the paint, instant offense and fly-around defense were too much for Binghamton.

“We try and score in the first six, seven seconds if we can,” Lewis said. “We just like getting out and running in transition, we know not a lot of teams are as fast as us or have the depth that we have to come in and run.”