Three Takeaways From Syracuse Women's Basketball's 2021-22 Season

The Orange navigated a difficult campaign and now look towards the future.

A head coaching vacancy, multiple transfer portal exits, COVID-19 related delays, and a schedule filled to the brim with Goliath ACC opponents—they all hit Syracuse this year like a barrage of snowballs, flying in one after the other and blanketing the team from head to toe.

Even with the Orange being well accustomed to winter weather, they had no chance withstanding such an onslaught.

When considering this laundry list of things Syracuse needed to take care of even before stepping onto the court this year, one can forgive them for the lackluster season they just completed. Capped off by a first round exit in the ACC tournament, the Orange put up an 11-18 overall record—leading to their worst win percentage for a season in over a decade.

But having said that, the Orange in no way punted on their 2021-22 campaign even with these odds stacked up against them. They showed some heart, played with grit, and fearlessly attacked their opponents.

The Orange even carved out a marquee victory over No. 13 Ohio State earlier this year. They also put together a six-game winning streak at one point, portraying some of the best offensive basketball ever seen by a Syracuse team—averaging a whopping 90.8 points per game during that stretch.

Without question, the Orange rolled with the punches this year, and in any season like that, teams can learn a great deal about themselves. In looking on to the offseason, Syracuse can move forward with these three takeaways from the prior run.

Size Still Matters

Much like their men’s team, the Syracuse women’s basketball program built their defense around the 2-3 zone concept long ago and have yet to abandon it. With the right players flowing within that zone, it can make life hell for opposing teams, especially those who run a slower, more methodical offense.

But this year, it hung the Orange out to dry, as they lacked the size and lateral quickness which any 2-3 zone needs to run effectively. As a result, the Orange gave up 74.8 points per game to their opponents this year—far and away the most by any ACC team, and the 12th most across the entire NCAA.

These ugly defensive numbers occurred in large part due to Syracuse’s issues on the glass, which also occurred due to their lacking size. Opposing teams consistently beat the Orange on the boards—leading them into an ACC-worst rebounding margin, and the 44th worst across the entire country.

Going forward, the Orange need to recognize basketball’s oldest rule and add more size to their rotation any way they can. Doing so promises to patch up this rebounding problem, fortify their zone, and get them back to the tournament.

Half-Court Offense Needs Attention

Often led by dynamic ball-handlers Chrislyn Carr, Najé Murray, or Teisha Hyman, the Orange resembled one of the college game’s more terrifying transition teams this past season. Often experiencing one or two scoring surges each game purely via the fast break, they knew how to put up points in a flash.

However, they might have relied on this strength a bit too much at times. Whenever the Orange faced off against a disciplined opponent who rarely turned it over, it became easy to throw some cold water over their offense, as they were unable to get out and run.

When that occurred, Syracuse had no choice but to try and keep pace by scoring in the half court—which wielded minimal returns. We saw this primarily occur during Syracuse’s early-season game vs Notre Dame, where they earned only three fast break points and ended up losing after a 25-7 run. This lasted all season though, as the Orange went 1-8 in games where they did not tally at least 10 transition points.

Clean playing, turnover-less teams do not exactly grow on trees, but the Orange cannot expect everyone they play to feed them free possessions next year either. Syracuse needs to adapt and prepare for that, and in this offseason emphasize half-court offense rather than putting all their eggs into the steal-and-score game.

Competitive Spirit Runs Deep

With so many new faces in new spots for the Orange this year, one might have expected a competitive drop off from what we’ve seen come from this program over the past few years.

But although Syracuse failed to stay competitive within the standings, they still did so on the court, with five of their losses coming by 10 points or less. Any loss is still not exactly something to be proud of, but this shortened loss margin does show you that Syracuse went toe-to-toe with a large number of their opponents all the way up until the final stretch.

This ability to stick with teams, especially those that were ranked, still made this season quite entertaining for Syracuse fans. The Orange were a team nobody ever wanted to play and came out each night knowing they had a chance to win.

Once again, Syracuse put out another competitive team that knew how to fight. That mentality surviving amidst what was a massive makeover for this program is a victory in its own right and represents a solid foundation to build on for next year.

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