In the fourth quarter, the game already out of reach for Maryland Eastern Shore, Syracuse kept shooting. The Orange sprinted up and down the court, found its comfort zone — outside the orange painted arc — and hurled 3-pointers.

With 6:28 remaining in the game, Miranda Drummond poked the ball away from Ciani Byrom, ran down the court and settled near the wing opposite from SU’s bench. Drummond caught a pass from Chelayne Bailey and jumped, launching one of the Orange’s 41 attempts from deep toward the rim. Twine snapped and Drummond shook her head, grinning slightly.

Before SU head coach Quentin Hillsman walked to the sidelines for tip-off, he said his team needed to start fast. Sixteen 3-pointers later, 10 of which came in the first half, No. 15 Syracuse (8-2) cruised toward its second-straight blowout win. The barrage from behind the arc overwhelmed Maryland Eastern Shore (2-6), resulting in a final score of 96-51. For the first time this season, SU has notched double-digit 3s in consecutive games. The Orange’s 16 makes from deep is the most 3s its hit in a game since it totaled 20 against North Carolina last February. All 15 of Drummond’s points came from deep and forward Digna Strautmane added five 3s herself.

“(3-point shooting) is a big part of our game and if we can do it so well that’s just great,” Strautmane, who finished with a team-leading 17 points, said. “Everybody knows not every game is like that but we have to improve to be consistent with it.”

Through 10 games, Syracuse’s success has been linked to its 3-pointers. In its only two losses — a 75-73 nailbiter against then-No. 3 Oregon on Nov. 10 and a 72-68 contest against then-No. 20 Minnesota on Nov. 29 — SU went a combined 10 for 50 from behind the arc. Hillsman’s message never changed: Keep shooting. On Wednesday night, the Orange didn’t stop shooting resulting in its deep ball production (48) nearly matching the Hawks’ total output (51).

With no Hawks starter standing taller than 6-foot, Syracuse started the game by taking advantage of its height disparity. But when the defense helped inside, SU’s bigs flung the ball to its shooters stationed on the corners and wings, commencing the aerial assault.

Strautmane nailed a 3 from the wing during an early half-court set. A few possessions later, she settled behind the line and swished a deep ball. Strautmane ran to the opposite wing on the next trip down the floor and converted another opportunity. In her last two games, the sophomore has averaged 18 points and has showed the decisiveness SU coaches yearned for at the start of the season.

“I feel like they were leaving me open,” Strautmane said. “That’s how our game is, if somebody’s open, we’re gonna shoot it. I just took the shots and it went in.”

Around Strautmane, others were knocking down 3s, as well. In Syracuse’s emphatic 31-7 second quarter, four different shooters tallied deep balls in a variety of ways. Drummond leaked out to the corner across from the Hawks’ bench. Gabrielle Cooper rushed to an open corner. Kiara Lewis found space on the wing.

An early 24-21 Maryland Eastern Shore lead was wiped out. At one point, an SU fan sitting courtside turned and said, “We’re up by nine now?”

In the third quarter, the Orange persisted. With the margin comfortably in Syracuse’s favor, Hillsman called plays from the bench that resulted in more 3-pointers. An in-bounds play targeted Lewis on the wing. Drummond trailed behind her defender for a shot following a double screen. A play called “horns” ended with Strautmane rotating to the top of the arc and banking a shot off the glass and in. The over-passing that Hillsman said plagued SU in recent games was a non-factor.

“They weren’t selfish,” Hillsman said. “They took good shots. They were open. They didn’t pass up good shots. That’s what it’s about.”

During halftime, the Syracuse band performed “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen while the Orange warmed up. On the other end of the court, the Hawks could only watch as Syracuse was in the midst of its best shooting performance to date.

Published on December 5, 2018 at 10:22 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez