Quentin Hillsman wasn’t satisfied with Syracuse’s six-point halftime lead Friday. The Orange held Hartford to just 23 points in the opening 20 minutes, but the head coach felt his players allowed too many easy looks for their opponent.

In the second half, SU ratcheted up the intensity and smothered the Hawks into a 19 percent shooting performance. For Hillsman, that stifling defense led his team to victory.

‘It was just about us playing great defense in the second half,’ Hillsman said in a phone interview. ‘I thought in the second half we did a very good job of just making sure they didn’t get uncontested shots.’

Syracuse (19-14) used that second-half defensive performance to pull away from Hartford (19-13) for a 59-42 win Friday in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament in West Hartford, Conn. In addition to holding the Hawks to 19 percent shooting in the second half, the Orange forced 22 turnovers, leading to 26 points.

Hillsman and the Orange will take on Drexel (19-13) in Philadelphia on Monday in the second round. The Dragons defeated Fairfield 57-41 on the road in their opening-round game.

With just three days in between games, Hillsman said it can be challenging to prepare, but the quick turnaround also comes with the excitement of postseason play.

‘We just have to do a good job of getting some rest and making sure we can do some game prep and know what they’re trying to do,’ Hillsman said. ‘But we’re excited to be playing, obviously. We’re very excited to be playing, and hopefully we can move on and continue to compete.’

On Friday, Syracuse’s pressure defense set the tone. As SU has all season, Hillsman said, the team used a full-court press to control the tempo and contest open shots in the half-court.

Hillsman said he mixed presses to give the Hawks different looks throughout the game. The head coach said the defense sped up Hartford, making it difficult on the Hawks to get comfortable offensively.

‘That was our goal to just kind of control tempo with our press and get them going a little faster or even making them pass the ball side to side and get into the shot clock,’ Hillsman said.

The end result was the 22 turnovers and 14-of-53 shooting from the field that plagued Hartford. Though Syracuse wasn’t much better on offense – finishing 20-of-53 on the night – the Orange cruised to victory in the second half.

SU came out of the break and quickly extended its lead to 10. The gap grew as Syracuse’s offense started to click. As the team’s defense picked up, so did its offense.

The Orange shot 40 percent in the final 20 minutes and got a balanced scoring effort. Rachel Coffey led the way with 12, Elashier Hall had 10 and three more finished with eight points each.

‘We did a very good job of just taking good shots,’ Hillsman said. ‘That was the difference in the game. Second half, we just took solid shots, and we made shots in the half court.’

But it all started with the defensive intensity. SU contested nearly every shot the Hawks attempted in the second half and made it tough on them just to get the ball past half court.

With just 19 points in the half, Hartford couldn’t keep pace with Syracuse as the Orange coasted into the second round of the WNIT.

‘Our defense really picked up in the second half,’ Hillsman said. ‘I thought we did a very good job of really guarding the ball and getting out there and contesting their shots.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on March 16, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu