Tiana Mangakahia lined up a 3-pointer 11 seconds into Syracuse’s Nov. 16 matchup against Maryland Eastern Shore. On the other end of the court, her teammates on the Orange bench each put three fingers in the air, primed to celebrate a basket. Instead, they watched the shot clank off the rim.

A few dejected players fell back into their seats. Nine seconds later, Gabrielle Cooper shot from distance. Again, the bench stood. Again, arms were raised. Again, the jumper was off the mark. SU’s next seven attempts followed the same pattern.

After a Miranda Drummond 3 nearly missed everything, SU head coach Quentin Hillsman spun and walked away from the court with his lips pursed. At halftime of the eventual 68-45 win, the Orange had shot 4-for-23 from 3-point land, holding just a three-point lead over a non-Power 5 team.

“Honestly, it wasn’t the prettiest game,” Hillsman said.“… We got really good shots in the first half. We just didn’t knock them down.”

Even though Syracuse (6-0) is off to its best start in four years, its 3-point shooting has been inconsistent. SU converted less than a quarter (24-for-105) of its 3s in the first three games of the season. In the three contests since, it’s shot 11 percent better, raising the season average to 28.4 percent (58-204). The Orange leads the Atlantic Coast Conference with 34 3-point attempts per game.

“We have some players who are missing some shots that they normally make,” Hillsman said when asked about what SU needs to improve upon. “When that all comes together, we have a chance to be explosive.”

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Twelve players have attempted a 3 this season for the Orange, yet only three have made more than five buckets from beyond the arc: sophomore Gabrielle Cooper and redshirt juniors Miranda Drummond and Isis Young. The trio has accounted for 126 of SU’s 204 3-point shots and connected 33 percent of the time.

Drummond, who spent two years at St. Bonaventure, took six 3’s her freshman year. In her second season, she lofted 162 of them and made 59, which led the Bonnies in 3-point field goal percentage. The Binghamton native leads the Orange in the same category (35 percent) after sitting a year due to NCAA transfer rules. In the preseason, Drummond said, she would sprint up and down the court and constantly chuck it from deep.

“I tried to improve on my ball-handling and my 3-point shot,” Drummond said. “Coach said that’d be something I had to do (this season).”

Cooper, SU’s lone returning starter from 2016, ranks second on the team in 3-point shooting percentage (34 percent) and first in attempts (53). After spacing the floor as a complimentary offensive piece a year ago, she’s adjusting to her increased role this year and is on pace for 318 3-point attempts, 33 more than she took in 2016.

With Mangakahia dribbling through defenses, freshman forward Digna Strautmane manning the high post and Drummond doing a little bit of everything, Cooper can roam the 3-point line and wait for her chance to catch and shoot.
“I just do me and get to open areas,” Cooper said. “… I know my job. I know my role. It doesn’t matter how many shots I miss, (Hillsman) is going to tell me to keep shooting.”

Of the three shooters, Young is the only one who doesn’t start. However, the Florida transfer has established herself as the Orange’s first player off the bench. Young is averaging six 3s over 19 minutes and leads all bench players with 9.3 points per game.

“We always need that little spark,” Cooper said of Young’s role. “Especially when we start dead, she’ll come in and hit a big shot.”

The deep ball has been the difference in half of SU’s wins so far. In the third quarter against UMES, the Orange’s lead ballooned to 10. Of SU’s 16 points in the frame, 12 came from behind the arc.

Against Vanderbilt In the Paradise Jam Tournament on Nov. 24, SU erupted for a 31-point third quarter en route to an 84-78 win. Drummond led the charge with 16 points as Syracuse went 6-for-10 from behind the arc. Cooper, Young or Drummond made five of the six 3’s. As SU’s nonconference slate toughens—matchups against Northwestern, Stony Brook and eventually No. 6 Mississippi State loom—it will need to rely on its most-important offensive weapon.

“I’m just waiting and hoping for the day when they can start knocking down more shots,” Hillsman said. “I think it’s going to change the whole complexity of the way we play.”

Published on November 28, 2017 at 11:54 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez