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North Carolina center Maria Gakdeng dominated Syracuse down low.
With UNC bringing constant pressure, SU’s defense was forced to make quick decisions and Gakdeng capitalized. In the second quarter, as North Carolina led by two, Kyra Wood jumped a passing lane and Gakdeng slipped underneath for an easy deuce.
This layup kick-started a personal 11-3 run by Gakdeng over the second quarter’s last four and a half minutes. She helped the Tar Heels grow a 10-point halftime lead, entering the break with a game-high 15 points and seven rebounds.
“We knew coming into the game that she was going to be dominant down there,” Sophie Burrows said about Gakdeng. “But I don’t necessarily think we followed the game plan as well as we could have, letting her get that deep seal down low.”
Syracuse (10-16, 4-11 Atlantic Coast) couldn’t find answers to stop Gakdeng and the rest of No. 9 North Carolina’s (24-4, 12-3 Atlantic Coast) players in the interior. Gakdeng registered a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double as SU fell 68-58. The Orange were outscored 40-20 in the paint en route to their 10-point loss.
“This is a team mistake, we totally missed the game plan on (defending the paint),” SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “That’s credit to North Carolina, they just kept going to the well.”
In their last game against California, the Orange were outscored 38-26 in the paint. Golden Bears forward Marta Suárez poured in 16 points and added six boards, which further dropped SU’s chances at making the NCAA Tournament.
Syracuse needed a change. One day before facing UNC, Legette-Jack had her team focus on rebounding.
“We jumped on them hard in practice today,” Legette-Jack said on Feb 19. “Hopefully they bring that intensity of a purpose tomorrow, because one thing that North Carolina does, they get on the boards hard.”
But, Legette-Jack didn’t see the Orange’s training reflected by their in-game performance.
“Maybe I lied,” Legette-Jack said. “For somebody to out-rebound us by 14 rebounds to me is a slap in my face as a head coach, that’s who I am…We didn’t go teeth first.”
Legette-Jack wanted to see her players go to the ground for loose balls, but often SU was out-hustled by UNC.
Midway through the second quarter, Saniaa Wilson corralled an offensive rebound before throwing it away to North Carolina’s Grace Townsend. Olivia Schmitt knocked the ball away but then two UNC players were first to the ground, while other SU players looked on. North Carolina got to keep possession through a jump ball.
With the Tar Heels allowing the fewest points in the ACC per game (55.7), Syracuse needed to make the most of every possession it could. But it was losing the battle on the glass and the fight for loose balls.
SU had chances to take command of the game. But its post players couldn’t find consistency in the paint.
Izabel Varejão and Wood combined for eight points in the first quarter, but only added two more points in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Trayanna Crisp and Townsend were getting into the Orange’s paint easily, each finishing layups early in the second quarter.
With SU trailing 17-16 midway through the second, it looked to impose its will on the paint. Shy Hawkins found Varejão near the free throw line, but she was immediately met with a double team. She dished to Schmitt, who drove baseline but coughed it up.
The Tar Heels used its defense to suffocate the Orange inside. Wood was held scoreless in the second quarter and UNC had a two-rebound edge on the boards at halftime.
North Carolina led Syracuse by 10 at halftime despite missing multiple layups in the first half.
In the third quarter, SU changed its strategy by attacking beyond the arc. Two minutes into the frame, Burrows nailed a 3, the Orange’s first of six triples that quarter. Schmitt hit three from deep and Woolley nailed her fourth of the game.
But, with more of a reliance on the outside shot, SU’s post players went cold. Varejão and Wood each attempted just one shot in the third and neither converted.
Down by 10 heading to the fourth quarter, Syracuse tried to make more of a mark in the paint but by the time it did, the clock was winding down.
Madeline Potts converted multiple shots inside the paint, but bench Wilson struggled, missing four shots in the frame.
“We didn’t get the best production from our bigs at all,” Legette-Jack said. “Saniaa (Wilson) had point-blank layups and went 0-for-6, and I thought that (Izabel Varejão) could have put up 18 points easy, but we can’t choke ourselves in the middle of the game.”
Syracuse was able to match UNC with 13 points in the fourth quarter, but it failed to chip into its deficit. The loss marked SU’s third straight as its chances at making the ACC tournament dwindle.
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