Syracuse Fades Late in Loss at #20 Notre Dame
The Orange aimed high in trying to end their five-game losing streak tonight, hitting the road to do battle with No. 20 Notre Dame. But despite their admirable effort, the Orange dropped this contest just like all others so far this month, putting their record at 8-10 overall and 1-7 within conference play.
Syracuse stuck with the Fighting Irish far longer than the 83-62 final score might imply. They carried a two-point lead into the second period thanks to a fantastic start for Teisha Hyman which she would only build on as the game progressed.
Notre Dame and Syracuse then traded runs up until around the six-minute mark of the final period. But the Fighting Irish eventually smelled blood in the water and attacked accordingly, closing things out on a 21-6 run.
With ample size compared to Syracuse, Notre Dame looked like redwoods while the Orange resembled the shrubs in your front yard. The Fighting Irish controlled the glass from tipoff until the game’s final buzzer, which more than anything helped them go on their game-deciding run.
Shortly after jumping up double-digits for the first time in the game, Notre Dame pulled down four straight offensive rebounds before finally capping off the possession with another bucket. The sequence seemed to knock the wind out of Syracuse, who never made things interesting from that point forward.
Notre Dame went on to win the rebounding battle 58-29, making it Syracuse’s most lopsided performance on the boards all season.
But amidst those negatives, Hyman finished with a laundry list of a stat line, collecting 22 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and seven steals. Chrislyn Carr also added 13 points on 6-13 shooting from the field.
Absent though from Syracuse’s typical group of box score heroes was Christianna Carr, who found herself glued to the bench often during this one after stumbling into some early foul trouble. She still came through with five points, but her presence on the floor as a rebounder was especially missed, again made evident by Notre Dame’s colossal advantage on the glass.
Thankfully, this game concludes a stretch which truly sent the Orange through the ring of fire, having played four straight ranked teams. Syracuse’s next contest sees them return to the Dome for a date with the Pittsburgh Panthers, who find themselves in a similar situation having lost four of their last five.
