After a last-second loss to Cincinnati at home last Saturday, Quentin Hillsman knew his Syracuse team had to bounce back with a road victory against Providence.

Before the Orange took the floor Tuesday night, the SU head coach challenged his players to respond, making it clear to them what was at stake in the Big East matchup.

‘I just explained to them that it was a must-win,’ Hillsman said in a phone interview. ‘That we needed to come out and win this basketball game. Obviously, when you lose one at home, you got to come back and get one on the road.’

Syracuse (14-9, 3-6 Big East) responded with perhaps its best performance of the season, crushing Providence 80-54 at Alumni Hall on Tuesday. The Orange shot 57.8 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from beyond the arc and went a perfect 23-of-23 from the free-throw line to cruise to victory. Hillsman said SU spread the floor, fed the ball to the high post and finally hit from outside, leaving the Friars (12-10, 4-5) with no answer defensively.

Iasia Hemingway — one of five Syracuse players to score in double figures — led the way with 24 points. Shakeya Leary added a career-high 15 off the bench, Rachel Coffey tallied 13 on a perfect shooting night, and Carmen Tyson-Thomas and Kayla Alexander scored 11 and 10, respectively.

The balanced effort resulted in a dominant win that saw the Orange build a lead as a large as 31 in the second half.

Syracuse took its first lead about two minutes into the game on a 3-pointer by Coffey. The Orange never relinquished the lead. Coffey — who finished the night 4-of-4 from the field with three 3s — and the Orange stayed hot from outside to set up the team’s high-low set.

‘It really allowed our offense to spread out a little bit,’ Hillsman said. ‘And we were able to get the ball to the high post a little easier.’

Hillsman said the key to the game proved to be the high post.

Providence came out intent on taking away Hemingway’s ability to drive to the basket. The Orange set some ball screens and got the defense moving with some quick passes before hitting Hemingway on the wings. From there, the senior broke down the defense and found open teammates for jump shots in rhythm.

‘She made some jump shots, but she also got to the basket, but they were shading her toward their defense,’ Hillsman said. ‘Now, obviously, once we make some perimeter shots, they really couldn’t help, and I thought that was the key.’

The sharp ball reversals and perimeter shooting threats have been missing from the Orange offense much of the season. But on Tuesday, SU executed to near-perfection en route to building a 15-point lead at halftime.

That lead ballooned to 23 after Syracuse started the second half with an 8-0 run. And the Orange was well on its way to securing its ‘must-win’ game against the Friars. SU continued to pour it on, taking a 75-44 lead with 4:11 remaining after a Leary layup.

For Hillsman, it was an encouraging performance after a tough two-game slide pushed SU to 13th place in the Big East. The head coach was proud to see his team respond with one of its best performances in an up-and-down season.

‘We played really well,’ Hillsman said. ‘Obviously, we put together a complete game, and we shot perfect from the foul line, and we made some perimeter shots.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on January 31, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu