Shooting 101: How Syracuse Women’s Basketball’s shooting woes have tanked the team
By Adam Cohen | @A_Cohen6
Raleigh, N.C. – The Orange lost their second straight game by 40+ against NC State on Sunday 95-53. This loss came right after Syracuse got rocked by 49 points Thursday night against Virginia Tech. Both of those ACC foes are ranked, but SU has to figure out a way to fix its shooting.
Against VT, the Orange shot a meager 30% from the field. While 30% isn’t awful, it certainly won’t get the job done against ranked teams. On Sunday in Raleigh, the Cuse shot even worse with a 27.5% clip.
“I think we haven’t been shooting our best in previous games. I think we just need to keep shooting and trusting each other and eventually the shots are going to fall.” Chrislyn Carr said about the teams recent shooting woes. The senior guard is currently having her best shooting season from a field goal percentage standpoint. She’s shooting 43.4% on the year which is up just a tick over her 43.2% two years ago with Texas Tech.
The Orange as a whole have not shot over 35% from the field since February 8th against Virginia. It has been a really tough 2022 for the Orange as they have won a total of three games while losing 10. They have scored over 75 points twice since the middle of December.
“I think against NC State we shot the ball pretty decent from the three-point line. NC State is one of the best defensive teams in the country. They have great size, and they were playing for an ACC championship, so they were very motivated. We just need to get past that and move forward.” Acting Head Coach Vonn Read said about the loss to the Wolfpack. The Orange put up 35 shots from beyond the arc on Sunday and hit nine of them.
Syracuse is not a tall team, so driving into the paint is not going to be its best move. While a 26% three-point shooting percentage on Sunday, doesn’t sound good, it’s not too far below the team’s season average of 32%. The three ball, because of the way the team is constructed with a four-guard starting lineup, is the way that SU will win games.
The acting head coach has said that he will not be changing up the lineup, so for the last two games of the season, it will be the same five as it has been since the beginning. The Cuse have also rarely used anyone more than Alaina Rice off the bench, but Coach Read has said that if the situation calls for it, he may deploy some of his other players.
With two games left, Syracuse sits at 11-15 overall and 4-12 in ACC play. The Orange will head back down to North Carolina to take on the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. SU and Wake will do battle at 7PM on Thursday night.
