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Just over a month ago, Syracuse had no answer for Liatu King despite a comfortable 72-59 victory in the Petersen Events Center. The forward dominated Syracuse, dropping a game-high 27 points on 12-for-19 shooting from the field. Before the rematch between SU and Pitt Sunday, the Orange’s defensive game plan revolved around one goal — stopping King.

But for the majority of the contest Syracuse failed to do so. Through three quarters, King had 25 points, on 9-for-19 shooting along with a 7-for-8 effort from the free throw line. It was eerily similar to her performance on Jan. 21 against the Orange. The difference Sunday was she had her team in position to pull off a shocking upset as the Panthers led by eight entering the fourth quarter.

As much as King controlled portions of No. 17 Syracuse’s (23-5, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) matchup with Pittsburgh (8-21, 2-14 ACC), the Orange shut her down when it mattered most, coming back to win 63-53. King had just four points in the fourth quarter — the only Panther to score in the frame — on 2-for-5 shooting. Forwards like Alyssa Latham and Saniaa Wilson were the primary defenders on King while guards like Sophie Burrows and Georgia Woolley’s weak side defense helped the Orange stifle her.

As much as King dominated Syracuse, the Orange put on a sloppy offensive display early. After a season-low 45 points in its previous outing against Duke, the Orange had just 38 points with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. While SU was down, King added on.

The forward controlled the ball at the top of the key and dished off to Aaryn Battle, who hit Rapuluchi Ayodele in the high post. Nobody followed King as she went by Alaina Rice in SU’s zone defense. By the time Burrows and Wilson realized King was wide open, it was too late as King finished with contact for an and-one. King’s bucket was her seventh straight point for Pittsburgh as it led 49-38.

“She’s a monster, she is so good,” SU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said postgame. “She has a great future…She’s an undersized post player that can score buckets. I think that she has a great opportunity at the next level.”

The and-one gave Pittsburgh its largest lead of the game and put the Panthers in prime position to pull off a shocking upset. But Syracuse eventually started to slow her down.

On the first offensive possession of the fourth quarter, King tried to back down Wilson but forced her into a tough fadeaway. The next post touch for King, Wilson was there again as she tried to back her down. Rice came over to help and forced King to kick the ball out. The possession eventually ended in a turnover.

As Syracuse cut into Pitt’s lead, the Orange continued to shut down King. Marley Washenitz’s inbound pass to King went awry, causing a loose ball which Burrows chased down. King controlled the ball but as she attempted to turn up-court, Burrows was in prime position to draw a charge. After multiple offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession, Fair scored a pull-up jumper to cut Pitt’s lead down to 49-47 with less than seven minutes left.

Over the next three minutes, King missed three straight shots, all of which were heavily contested in the paint. It was a stark difference from the first half where King easily blew by whoever Syracuse put on her. King might be an undersized forward, but she makes up for it with her speed, which Legette-Jack was quick to point out postgame.

In the first half against SU, the Orange mostly let King go one-on-one. She often caught the ball in the high post and drove the lane while Pitt spaced the floor. But as Syracuse sent more bodies at King to fluster her, she tried getting involved in pick-and-roll actions.

Pitt led 51-49 as King attempted to set a screen for Washenitz, but Latham and Woolley trapped her. Washenitz found King as she flashed to the middle of the floor, but Burrows was there to help. King went straight into Burrows’ chest, but the freshman held strong as King traveled.

For Burrows, the key to stopping King down the stretch was doing exactly what she had on that possession — playing team defense.

“That was really what we focused on just having each other’s back and I think we did pretty well down the stretch,” Burrows said.

Every time King made a move, there was a second or third Syracuse player there. Even when she scored it was the case. After Latham hit two free throws to put SU in front for the first time since it led 2-0, King received the ball down low. With Latham and Burrows draped on her, King banked home her 28th and 29th point of the game as Pitt led 53-52. But that was King’s last shot attempt and Pittsburgh’s last made field goal.

Not only did King not have a single shot during the final 2:36, she didn’t touch the ball in the post once. The Panthers resorted to 3-pointers from Washenitz and Aislin Malcolm, which missed the mark.

Despite what transpired in the first three quarters, Syracuse shut down King when it needed to. What looked to be a disastrous performance quickly turned into a masterful defensive display in the fourth.

“Communication is really key in that kind of point in the game, so yeah just talking to each other having each other’s back,” Burrows said.

Published on February 25, 2024 at 7:58 pm

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