They broke the streak, now what?
By Adam Cohen | @A_Cohen6
Citrus TV Women’s Basketball Beat Reporter
Syracuse, N.Y. – The Orange snapped their six-game losing streak with their 80-72 win over Pittsburgh. The month of January was not kind to SU, but now that it’s February, what’s next for the Cuse?
It’s been an up and down season thus far for the Orange, as they had a winning streak of six games, and a losing streak of the same amount. There have been incredible highs, like a win over a ranked Ohio State team, or an absolute beat down of Central Connecticut State. As well as, really dreadful lows, including a 36-point loss to UNC where SU only had seven active players due to covid, and a 24-point loss to BC where the Orange shot 33% from the field.
Entering the final month of the season, the Orange are currently 11th in the ACC standings with a 2-7 record in conference play. At 9-10 overall, the final month means a lot for Syracuse’s postseason hopes.
Over the next few weeks, they’ll face only two ranked teams, compared to five from late December to the end of January. Other than number four Louisville and number three NC State, the Orange won’t be facing the gauntlet that is the ACC. With upcoming games against 11-9 Pitt, 10-9 Florida State, and 12-9 Wake Forest, there will be opportunities for SU to win some games.
Head Coach Vonn Read was asked about the state of the season coming off the losing streak and he said “our schedule is top-loaded; we feel the schedule will flip. Our schedule was unbalanced, we were right there in a lot of the games, especially on the road. We’re fine, we have an opportunity to turn it around here.”
Coach also spoke about how crucial ball movement is for this team. “Shooting comes and it goes, but we’re focused on sharing the ball, and moving the ball, I think when you do that you get open shots.” In Read’s eyes, the best way to get those open looks is to keep the ball moving. Getting open shots is essential for scoring points, winning games, and giving SU some momentum as the season ends. From Read’s comments it’s clear that he’s got confidence in his team to go out and turn things around.
On the player’s side, the girls remain positive and upbeat, even after that tough stretch. “It feels like a big weight lifted”, Christianna Carr said during a presser after breaking the streak. Taking that “weight” off the team will certainly help them focus more on just playing good basketball.
The Orange still have nine games remaining and their next game comes against the 11-8 (4-5 in ACC play) Miami Hurricanes on Thursday night down in South Beach. The team looks to begin a new streak, a winning streak, and get some momentum going with a win over their conference foe.
