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For the second time this season, a struggling Syracuse team played Boston College, who the Orange defeated 83-70 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, on Dec. 20. In the first matchup, Syracuse had just one loss on the season and was ranked in the Top-25.

But on Thursday, as SU (12-6, 9-6 Atlantic Coast) was coming off of back-to-back losses against Florida State and Virginia Tech, SU defeated the Eagles (6-11, 2-11) in a 92-75 victory. In the first half, Kamilla Cardoso played just seven minutes after picking up a couple of early personal fouls. She finished the opening half with just three points and three turnovers. But even with Cardoso’s struggles, Syracuse dominated Boston College in the paint and relied on its taller players in the victory. 

Here are three takeaways from Syracuse’s dominant win over Boston College:

Engstler jump-starts offense

After coming off of the bench just three minutes into the game, Emily Engstler poured in 11 of Syracuse’s 43 first-half points. Early in the second quarter, after Boston College cut Syracuse’s lead to just two, Engstler controlled the ball at the top of BC’s three-point arc. The junior lobbed a pass inside to Amaya Finklea-Guity, who had positioning on a BC post defender.

But instead of going up for a shot attempt, Finklea-Guity chucked a pass back outside to Tiana Mangakahia. The fifth-year senior had a look from 3 but opted to dish to Engstler, who nailed a wide-open triple. 

Two possessions later, on a fast break opportunity, Engstler cut behind BC’s back-pedaling offense. Mangakahia lobbed from half court, and the junior forward easily laid in the wide-open layup to extend the Orange lead to 25-18.

Throughout the first half, Englster was aggressive on offense and frequently read BC passes, finishing with four first-half steals. Those interceptions created fast-breaks for Syracuse to eventually finish the first 20 minutes with a 43-31 lead over the worst team in the ACC.

Can’t stop Dickens

While Engstler proved to be a problem for the Eagles, Syracuse struggled to slow down BC guard Makayla Dickens. With SU attempting to go on a second quarter run to open up a significant lead, Dickens trickled open from behind the arc. After catching a pass, the junior hoisted up a shot from distance, less than 10 seconds into the shot clock.

With Mangakahia and Kiara Lewis focused on defending the top of the key, no one was near to contest Dickens’ triple, and she cut SU’s lead to 31-26.

But the 43% 3-point shooter wasn’t just hitting shots from behind the arc. Even though she’s only 5-foot-8, Dickens snuck underneath the basket in the first quarter, snatching an offensive rebound away from 6-foot-7 Cardoso. That created a second-chance opportunity for the Eagles, which had 11 first-quarter offensive rebounds.

Without Dickens’ 14 first-half points — leading all scorers — BC likely would have fallen to an insurmountable deficit. Instead, Dickens’ 5-7 shooting kept the Eagles in contention with the lengthier Orange squad. 

Syracuse’s size advantage

From the opening jump, Syracuse passed into the paint, finding players that Boston College struggled to defend, such as Engstler and Cardoso. Nearly half of SU’s 43 first-half points were scored in the paint, with Boston College’s 6-foot-3 Clara Ford serving as the tallest player on the court for the Eagles.

With a vast height advantage, SU scored 48 of its points in the interior. After winning the opening tip, Syracuse passed to an open Digna Strautmane, who attempted a 3 to start the game. While her shot missed the target, Cardoso was underneath the basket to grab the offensive rebound before putting back another shot to score the first basket of the game. 

With SU’s starters a couple of inches taller than Eagles starters, the Orange were able to drive or lob passes into the paint all game long. After Cardoso’s first basket of the game, Strautmane drove into the paint for an easy layup on the next possession. Then, on its third offensive trip, Lewis missed a jumper from the elbow. But Strautmane had position underneath the basket for another easy putback after the offensive rebound. 

Syracuse finished with 15 offensive rebounds and 20 first-half points in the paint.

Published on February 25, 2021 at 10:17 pm

Contact Thomas: tgshults@syr.edu | @ThomasShults_