Between the Lines
2/24/2012 10:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Men's Lacrosse
This Week: “Hopefully continues like this. Would be fun to see this one come down to the wire.” Words uttered by me with 15:59 left and the women's basketball team leading 44-43 at 18th ranked(by the coaches) DePaul on Tuesday night. I'll tell you what was even more fun. Not knowing that the Orange were already three points in to a 23-0 game breaking run.
“I'm just very very proud of our team,” Quentin Hillsman said afterwards. “They're just starting to play really good basketball for us right now and obviously this is the time of the year when you want to be playing well.”
Cleary the second half run won the game, but secretly the most important possession may have taken place in the waning seconds of the first. Coming in to Tuesday night Syracuse was 16-0 this season when leading at the half, and 0-11 when trailing at the break. With :27 left in the first half Carmen Tyson-Thomas knocked down a jumper that put the Orange up 37-36. That set the stage for the “game winning” defensive stop. Elashier Hall ended up with the ball after it was deflected away from Blue Demon Jasmine Penny with 5 ticks left in the half, apparently sealing DePaul's fate(though that 23-0 run sure did help).
Higgo's Hero: Rachel Coffey. Her stat line Tuesday: 22 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 made 3 pointers. All of those numbers represent career highs for the sophomore guard. “Monster monster game for her,” said Q. “She played really aggressive, played really strong, she made shots and that's what it was all about just making shots.”
(6-9) from 3 certainly qualifies as shot making. Even more impressive for someone that didn't move into the starting lineup until the 8th game of the season. Besides the recent hot shooting, resilience may be the most important trait shown this season by the former 27th ranked recruit in the nation.
“I'm really proud of her,” Q nearly beamed. “She could have given up at the beginning of the year. She wasn't starting early. I thought she wasn't giving us everything she had. She just continued to plug away, continued to play well, so I'm very very very proud of her.”
That's three verys folks. Saying you're proud is one thing. Showing it is another. Rachel's played 117 of 120 possible minutes in the last 3 games. That's how Q shows it. Coffey's responded by becoming a much needed floor spacer and knocking down 42% of her Big East 3's, sixth best in conference games. For her, top for now, performance in Orange(or the alternate road blues as it so happened), Rachel Coffey is this week's hero.
Chicago vs. New York: With advance apologies to all the Cuse grads and fans in and from NYC, I personally find the Windy(and boy was it ever Tuesday afternoon) City more architecturally interesting. I'll take New York's skyline from afar, but in the heart of it I'll go Chicago. The main reason being the streets and sidewalks are significantly wider so it's easier to actually see what's around you unlike when surrounded by New York's more claustrophobic wall of buildings.
But that's not what the real debate is about. The real battle between New York and Chicago? Pizza. Thin crust vs. deep dish, an eternal struggle. So I'm here to officially not settle this debate for all time. Here's the thing, New York pizza has crust, sauce, cheese and toppings, and it's delicious. Chicago deep dish has crust, cheese, toppings, and sauce, and it's delicious. The debate between the two is deliciously foolish because despite similar ingredients New York and Chicago pizza have about as much in common as pancakes and a loaf of bread. So argue amongst yourselves, but I'll gladly sign up for a slice of either.
That said when in Chicago don't miss out on all the glories a deep dish has to offer. There are many good options: the original Pizzeria UNO, Giordano's, Gino's East, but this trip's deep dishery was created by Lou Malnati's. Unless you're a vegetarian or swine averse the "Malnati Chicago Classic" will get you where you need to go. House made sausage buried under a chunky tomato sauce sitting on top of a blend of cheeses and the thick crust, spectacular. Considering the east coast orientation and initial Chicago trip for much of the roster, it took some explaining of where all the ingredients were located, but most seemed to enjoy the end product.
Deep Dish and a win, delicious. Of course thin crust and a win, equally tasty…but not while in Chicago.
Sounds from the Road: The mood and volume of the postgame bus is generally tied to the game's result. Tuesday's bus? Boisterous. In what could only have been an audition to join the Sugarhill Gang, Director of Video Services Kornell Battle proved that he most certainly knows at least the first few verses(it's a long song folks) of “Rapper's Delight”. Someone get Wonder Mike on the phone and see if they need a fourth.
A Dash of Lax: After the opening week losses of Duke and Denver I moved the Orange up to 4th with my vote in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. When others' early season whims were also considered, Syracuse landed at 6th this week. Expect some wild swings in the early polls before we all get a grasp on the standout teams of 2012.
Next Broadcast: We'll be bouncing back and forth between hoops and lax this weekend. Saturday is senior day for Iasia Hemingway and Troya Berry when the women welcome Georgetown at 1:00. Sunday the Dome turns into a lacrosse field when Army arrives to face John Desko's bunch at 2:00. And Monday night is the women's hoops regular season finale at Villanova at 7:00. Broadcasts for all three can be found on ESPN 97.7 and on Orange All Access, with the lacrosse game also available on TK99.
Until then hit me up @BrianHigginsSU.
“I'm just very very proud of our team,” Quentin Hillsman said afterwards. “They're just starting to play really good basketball for us right now and obviously this is the time of the year when you want to be playing well.”
Cleary the second half run won the game, but secretly the most important possession may have taken place in the waning seconds of the first. Coming in to Tuesday night Syracuse was 16-0 this season when leading at the half, and 0-11 when trailing at the break. With :27 left in the first half Carmen Tyson-Thomas knocked down a jumper that put the Orange up 37-36. That set the stage for the “game winning” defensive stop. Elashier Hall ended up with the ball after it was deflected away from Blue Demon Jasmine Penny with 5 ticks left in the half, apparently sealing DePaul's fate(though that 23-0 run sure did help).
Higgo's Hero: Rachel Coffey. Her stat line Tuesday: 22 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 made 3 pointers. All of those numbers represent career highs for the sophomore guard. “Monster monster game for her,” said Q. “She played really aggressive, played really strong, she made shots and that's what it was all about just making shots.”
(6-9) from 3 certainly qualifies as shot making. Even more impressive for someone that didn't move into the starting lineup until the 8th game of the season. Besides the recent hot shooting, resilience may be the most important trait shown this season by the former 27th ranked recruit in the nation.
“I'm really proud of her,” Q nearly beamed. “She could have given up at the beginning of the year. She wasn't starting early. I thought she wasn't giving us everything she had. She just continued to plug away, continued to play well, so I'm very very very proud of her.”
That's three verys folks. Saying you're proud is one thing. Showing it is another. Rachel's played 117 of 120 possible minutes in the last 3 games. That's how Q shows it. Coffey's responded by becoming a much needed floor spacer and knocking down 42% of her Big East 3's, sixth best in conference games. For her, top for now, performance in Orange(or the alternate road blues as it so happened), Rachel Coffey is this week's hero.
Chicago vs. New York: With advance apologies to all the Cuse grads and fans in and from NYC, I personally find the Windy(and boy was it ever Tuesday afternoon) City more architecturally interesting. I'll take New York's skyline from afar, but in the heart of it I'll go Chicago. The main reason being the streets and sidewalks are significantly wider so it's easier to actually see what's around you unlike when surrounded by New York's more claustrophobic wall of buildings.
But that's not what the real debate is about. The real battle between New York and Chicago? Pizza. Thin crust vs. deep dish, an eternal struggle. So I'm here to officially not settle this debate for all time. Here's the thing, New York pizza has crust, sauce, cheese and toppings, and it's delicious. Chicago deep dish has crust, cheese, toppings, and sauce, and it's delicious. The debate between the two is deliciously foolish because despite similar ingredients New York and Chicago pizza have about as much in common as pancakes and a loaf of bread. So argue amongst yourselves, but I'll gladly sign up for a slice of either.
That said when in Chicago don't miss out on all the glories a deep dish has to offer. There are many good options: the original Pizzeria UNO, Giordano's, Gino's East, but this trip's deep dishery was created by Lou Malnati's. Unless you're a vegetarian or swine averse the "Malnati Chicago Classic" will get you where you need to go. House made sausage buried under a chunky tomato sauce sitting on top of a blend of cheeses and the thick crust, spectacular. Considering the east coast orientation and initial Chicago trip for much of the roster, it took some explaining of where all the ingredients were located, but most seemed to enjoy the end product.
Deep Dish and a win, delicious. Of course thin crust and a win, equally tasty…but not while in Chicago.
Sounds from the Road: The mood and volume of the postgame bus is generally tied to the game's result. Tuesday's bus? Boisterous. In what could only have been an audition to join the Sugarhill Gang, Director of Video Services Kornell Battle proved that he most certainly knows at least the first few verses(it's a long song folks) of “Rapper's Delight”. Someone get Wonder Mike on the phone and see if they need a fourth.
A Dash of Lax: After the opening week losses of Duke and Denver I moved the Orange up to 4th with my vote in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. When others' early season whims were also considered, Syracuse landed at 6th this week. Expect some wild swings in the early polls before we all get a grasp on the standout teams of 2012.
Next Broadcast: We'll be bouncing back and forth between hoops and lax this weekend. Saturday is senior day for Iasia Hemingway and Troya Berry when the women welcome Georgetown at 1:00. Sunday the Dome turns into a lacrosse field when Army arrives to face John Desko's bunch at 2:00. And Monday night is the women's hoops regular season finale at Villanova at 7:00. Broadcasts for all three can be found on ESPN 97.7 and on Orange All Access, with the lacrosse game also available on TK99.
Until then hit me up @BrianHigginsSU.
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