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Syracuse’s 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso positioned herself in the middle of the paint, right underneath the bucket alongside Clemson’s 6-foot-2 starting center Hannah Hank in the first two minutes of the game. The Clemson sophomore grabbed the rebound over Cardoso, fired, missed and then secured a second board over Cardoso. 

Cardoso’s inefficiency — along with that Syracuse’s other center, Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi — became a recurring issue for the Orange against an unranked Clemson team with only eight active players that hadn’t won a game in 2021 until Sunday. The center recovered moments later to swat the ball away for one of her six blocks on Sunday afternoon, but she only managed to pull down six rebounds, none of which came on the offensive end. In fact, Syracuse lost the offensive rebounding battle 24-15, and the overall rebounding battle 54-39. 

Clemson’s 5-foot-10 guard Delicia Washington led all scorers with 11 rebounds — and she did so despite the fact that five Syracuse players who are taller than Washington were on the floor for at least 15 minutes. 

Kiara Lewis had more rebounds than Cardoso and Djaldi-Tabdi combined. So did Emily Engstler. 

No. 23 Syracuse (7-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast) trailed by 25 points at halftime, the Orange’s largest halftime deficit since the 2017 NCAA Tournament when they trailed No. 1 UConn, but managed a recovery on Sunday afternoon to force overtime. Still, the Orange’s centers were not as effective as they needed to be in Syracuse’s 86-77 overtime loss to Clemson (9-5, 4-5). They were a large part of the reason Syracuse trailed by as many as 25 points, missing what should’ve been straightforward finishes in the paint, and weren’t influential in SU’s second half comeback, either.

“We had a chance to hold on and win it in regulation and just didn’t rebound the ball a couple times offensively,” head coach Quentin Hillsman said postgame. “You can’t win games giving up 24 offensive rebounds. We gotta rebound the basketball.”

With Clemson leading by one point and only two minutes remaining, Washington drove into the lane, sidestepping by Cardoso and leading outside the paint as Washington released an underhand toss. With Cardoso astray, Syracuse lost the offensive rebound and then fouled. 

Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi reaches for a rebound against UNC on Jan.19. Courtesy of Dennis Nett | Syracuse.com

Moments later, Lewis cut inside and finished for an and-1 to give Syracuse its first lead of the game with 1:07 remaining. But then Cardoso couldn’t collect another board and Clemson hit a 3. 

In overtime, Hank pulled up for a jumper that hit the back rim, and Cardoso lept, extending her right arm back to collect the floating rebound. Instead, Washington, who had out-positioned the center grabbed it and then went to the ground. Clemson drained a 3-pointer immediately after, and the Orange collapsed in the extra period. Syracuse fielded only seven points and allowed 16 during the final five-minute frame. 

Against Louisville three days ago, Syracuse had an equally poor shooting performance, shooting 39% from the field (Sunday they shot 40.3%). But the Orange dominated the glass and scored points inside, proving they could hang with the nation’s best team for three quarters. Syracuse shot 15.4% from beyond the arc, but used Cardoso’s size to stay in a game they had no business competing in while shooting so poorly.

Sunday afternoon, the Orange couldn’t replicate that formula. Cardoso finished with 12 points and shot 5-of-10 from the field, but her misses and difficulty rebounding were far more notable. Meanwhile, Djaldi-Tabdi filled in for Cardoso for much of the first half while the freshman was struggling. Djaldi-Tabdi didn’t notch a single rebound and recorded more fouls (four) than points (two) during 16 minutes on the floor.

Djaldi-Tabdi finished a 1-of-8 from the field. In the second quarter on the offensive end, she received a pass from Digna Strautmane a few feet from the bucket. She pivoted and missed. Two possessions later, she got back to the same spot, this time electing to lay it off the glass — and missed again. Cardoso soon replaced her, but little changed as the Orange remained in a double-digit deficit for most of the first half. 

“We just came out flat again,” Hillsman said postgame. “It’s tough with these games, when you come out and you’re not ready to play.”

Earlier in the first quarter, Tiana Mangakahia paced Syracuse’s offense, moving the ball from the right side of the court to the left. Djaldi-Tabdi saw her point guard, spun and ran toward the paint. Mangakahia wanted Djaldi-Tabdi to come toward her instead, and released a pass that nearly hit the center in the back. 

Sunday, Syracuse’s centers weren’t on the right page. If it weren’t for Engstler, 8-of-11 for 17 points and nine rebounds, one rebound short of her fourth consecutive game with a double-double, Syracuse wouldn’t have been able to comeback and force overtime. 

In the final 40 seconds, it was Engstler who cut into the paint and scored from just inside the free throw line to tie the game at 70, and Engstler who snatched a loose ball mere feet from Syracuse’s bucket to smother the Tigers’ final possession. Cardoso has been Syracuse’s go-to player on both ends of the court in paint this season. 

But Sunday, in the clutch and with the centers’ ineffectiveness, it was Engstler.

Published on January 24, 2021 at 5:19 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16