One of Syracuse’s main goals is to shoot, and make, a lot of threes. Its starting lineup is molded to fit that objective.

The backcourt of Alexis Peterson and Brittney Sykes have both taken more 3-pointers than ever before. Freshman Gabby Cooper plays a largely catch-and-shoot role while Isabella Slim stretches the floor at the 4 position. The outside barrage also draws the defense outward and frees up the paint for starting center Briana Day.

Yet when Slim found early foul trouble in Sunday’s 95-64 win over North Carolina, head coach Quentin Hillsman did not bring in another floor spacer. Instead, he called in Bria Day, the team’s second center.

“We shrink the floor a little bit more with Bria on the floor,” Hillsman said, “but it really helps our rebounding.”

No. 21 Syracuse (18-8, 9-4 Atlantic Coast) has shortened its rotation after losing a strong bench unit from last season. Each member of the starting five this season plays at least 25 minutes per game. But after Slim had to play limited minutes, the Orange showed it could be just as effective with both Day sisters playing by shifting to a more rebounding-oriented approach.

Against North Carolina, the Orange attempted the third-fewest number of 3-pointers (24) it has in a game all season. Yet SU outrebounded its opponent by the second-highest margin (20) it has all season and the most it has in an ACC game.

Slim and Bria Day average nearly the same number of rebounds, even though Slim plays eight more minutes. What the Orange loses in floor spacing when Slim is out, it gets in physicality and hustle when Day is in.

“Both of those players are really good,” UNC Hall of Fame head coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “They’re athletes, and they’re really good rebounders. They’re just ferocious rebounders.”

Bria Day also became instrumental in executing Syracuse’s press, especially when it was at its most effective in the third quarter. Oftentimes she was one of the rotating players to double up one of the Tar Heels alongside either Cooper or Sykes.

She doesn’t offer as much on the offensive end in terms of her scoring, finishing with just five points on Sunday. She confidently took two midrange jumpers from about 15 feet out along the baseline in the first half. One rattled in and out and the other didn’t even hit the rim. She appeared confident shooting from that range, but couldn’t offer much more from farther out.

The Day sisters playing together doesn’t cramp up the paint, Briana said, adding that it can open up driving lanes for the guards once quality picks are set up top. It’s unclear what the alignment is with two true centers on the court.

“Sometimes we don’t know who’s playing what,” Briana Day said. “But just going out and playing hard. We play hard regardless, but when Bria’s on the floor we play off of each other.”

On one play, Bria passed the ball to Briana at the high post. When Briana got doubled, Bria knew when and where to cut, drawing two Tar Heels with her in the process. That left Briana open and she calmly knocked down the jumper.

Syracuse will still look to shoot a lot of 3-pointers, but it knows that it has a rebounding unit ready to go.

“Either one has been good for us,” Hillsman said. “Hopefully we can continue to make that adjustment … and win basketball games.”

Published on February 14, 2017 at 11:20 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer