Spring Break
The Daily OrangeWBB | Hillsman's defensive switch doesn't slow down USF
By Jared Diamond
Posted: 3/9/08, 1:39 AM EST Section: Sports
HARTFORD, Conn. - Something strange happened with Syracuse's defense midway through the second half Saturday night.
South Florida had just hit four 3's in the first seven minutes, cutting what was a 10-point Orange lead at halftime down to a single point. This after USF shot 5-of-11 from behind the arc in the first half.
And on the Bulls' next possession, SU coach Quentin Hillsman changed his defense, switching away from the traditional 2-3 zone it has played virtually all season, in an attempt to stop the shooting barrage. It worked, in a way. South Florida would hit just one more 3 the rest of the game.
Too bad it didn't matter on the scoreboard.
Syracuse played much of the second half and overtime in a modified zone that resembled a man-to-man in the sixth-seed Orange's heartbreaking 68-67 overtime loss to 11th-seeded South Florida, knocking SU out in the first round of the Big East tournament.
The altered defense held the Bulls to one 3 for the remaining 18 minutes, but USF still came back from a 12-point second-half deficit.
Although Syracuse's defense looked like a man-to-man, Hillsman stressed all he did was tweak the zone to better prevent long-range shooting.
"They were running a little double baseline runner, and they were forcing our center, Vaida (Sipaviciute) or Vionca (Murray), to run out to the corner," Hillsman said. "We didn't want them to run out into the corner, so once they made that first pass we just kinda shaded off on the shooters, so it wasn't actually a man-to-man.
"It's a little junk defense we ran a couple games, we ran against West Virginia early. We ran it against Villanova a lot because they got some great shooters."
South Florida attempted just four more 3's the rest of the second half, hitting just one ? a key bank shot by Shantia Grace that put the Bulls up by two with 1:43 remaining. But USF managed to find other ways to score when the arc closed up.
Jessica Lawson, USF's 6-foot-3 center, did not score in the first half. But once Syracuse switched its defense, she took full advantage. Lawson scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, all in the last six minutes of regulation and overtime. Her layup with 1:42 in overtime ended up the game-winner, putting the Bulls up 68-67, the eventual final score.
South Florida had just hit four 3's in the first seven minutes, cutting what was a 10-point Orange lead at halftime down to a single point. This after USF shot 5-of-11 from behind the arc in the first half.
And on the Bulls' next possession, SU coach Quentin Hillsman changed his defense, switching away from the traditional 2-3 zone it has played virtually all season, in an attempt to stop the shooting barrage. It worked, in a way. South Florida would hit just one more 3 the rest of the game.
Too bad it didn't matter on the scoreboard.
Syracuse played much of the second half and overtime in a modified zone that resembled a man-to-man in the sixth-seed Orange's heartbreaking 68-67 overtime loss to 11th-seeded South Florida, knocking SU out in the first round of the Big East tournament.
The altered defense held the Bulls to one 3 for the remaining 18 minutes, but USF still came back from a 12-point second-half deficit.
Although Syracuse's defense looked like a man-to-man, Hillsman stressed all he did was tweak the zone to better prevent long-range shooting.
"They were running a little double baseline runner, and they were forcing our center, Vaida (Sipaviciute) or Vionca (Murray), to run out to the corner," Hillsman said. "We didn't want them to run out into the corner, so once they made that first pass we just kinda shaded off on the shooters, so it wasn't actually a man-to-man.
"It's a little junk defense we ran a couple games, we ran against West Virginia early. We ran it against Villanova a lot because they got some great shooters."
South Florida attempted just four more 3's the rest of the second half, hitting just one ? a key bank shot by Shantia Grace that put the Bulls up by two with 1:43 remaining. But USF managed to find other ways to score when the arc closed up.
Jessica Lawson, USF's 6-foot-3 center, did not score in the first half. But once Syracuse switched its defense, she took full advantage. Lawson scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, all in the last six minutes of regulation and overtime. Her layup with 1:42 in overtime ended up the game-winner, putting the Bulls up 68-67, the eventual final score.
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