Box score
Everyone loves to win pretty basketball games, the kind where shots are dropping and everything unfolds according to the game plan. Gritty wins build character, and that’s what made Syracuse’s win Tuesday night so special.
In a matchup of two of the best teams in 6A, Syracuse overcame a slow start and an ice-cold finish to eke out the 43-41 win over Fremont as Kyleigh Nielson’s late steal helped seal the key Region 1 win.
“Games aren’t always pretty, but you’ve got to find a way to win those ones as well as the pretty ones. And I thought we did, we made a ton of plays in the third quarter to give us a chance to get back in the ball game,” said Syracuse coach Braden Hamblin. “I was proud of the girls showing toughness and locking in and finishing there at the end.”
With the win, Syracuse improved to 14-2 overall and 5-0 in Region 1, while Fremont drops to 15-2 and 4-1 in region.
For Hamblin, it was his first home win over Fremont in his six years as head coach. Last year his team had a chance to earn a share of the Region 1 title, but lost at home to Fremont to finish in second place behind Davis.
That loss was extra motivation for the Titans heading into the game, but they didn’t necessarily start out with that mental edge.
Syracuse looked tight in the first half, while Fremont seemed relaxed offensively, burying back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game and eventually extended the lead to 29-19 by halftime.
The 19 points were the third-fewest points Syracuse has scored in the first half this season. Despite, there was no panic from the Titans.
Back in December, it scored a season-low 15 points in the first half against Riverton, and despite trailing by 19 rallied for the win.
Fremont’s Ava Post buried her third 3-pointer of the game coming out of halftime, and then converted a rebound putback on the Wolves’ next possession to stretch the lead to 34-21 with six minutes left in the quarter.
Incredibly though, Fremont scored just once over the next 11-plus minutes as Syracuse came storming back.
At halftime, Hamblin talked with his players about trying to speed things up defensively with a half-court press in hopes of forcing Fremont into turnovers and then easy transition buckets.
It worked magically as Fremont’s turnovers piled up quickly.
“We came out in the second half and we decided we were going to on made baskets to throw a little pressure at them to see if it could change the tide of the game and give us a little momentum and it did,” said Hamblin.
After Fremont turned the ball over just five times in the first half, Syracuse’s pressure forced the visitors into nine third quarter turnovers. Most came as the Wolves struggled to simply get the ball across half-court. Fremont finished the game with 20 turnovers.
Syracuse capitalized on those struggles with a 17-2 run capped by Rachel McBride’s jumper at the third quarter buzzer for the 38-36 lead — its first of the game.
“We were aggressive in that half-court press and were able to get some tips, steals and generate some momentum,” said Hamblin.
Syracuse’s Maylee Anderson opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back buckets, pushing the lead to 42-36 with 6:48 remaining as her team looked poised to run away with the win. It might’ve too, but the Titans didn’t make another field goal the rest of the game.
Both teams went scoreless for over straight minutes before Fremont’s Abigail Christensen sank two free throws and then followed with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 42-41 with 1:07 remaining. She finished with a game-high 22 points.
Fremont’s defense got a big stop at the other end as Syracuse missed its 11th straight stop with under 15 seconds remaining.
With fouls to give, Syracuse played tight defense with Fremont eyeing a potential game-winning bucket. It committed one foul near midcourt, and then Nielson stole the ensuing inbounds and then tried to dribble out the block before being fouled with 3.1 seconds remaining.
Nielson made 1 of 2 free throws, and Fremont’s half-courter at the buzzer came up well short.
“I feel like we’ve kind of had that one circled a little bit. It means a lot. It’s a big win for the girls,” said Hamblin. “I’m hoping it proves we can play with anybody in the state and it will galvanize us and motivate us even more going forward.”