HALFTIME: #23 SYR 33, Clemson 23

Kelly’s 3-Point Stance:

1. Bench Production: The Clemson bench outscored the Syracuse bench in the first half 16-7. Shelbie Davenport and Francesca Tagliapietra lead all scorers with seven points apiece.
2. Rebounding: The Tigers rebounded well on the defensive end in the first half against a much larger Syracuse squad. Clemson pulled down 16 defensive rebounds compared to Syracuse’s 11 defensive rebounds.
3. Hot Shooting: At intermission, Clemson is shooting an impressive 42% from the field. If the Tigers continue to shoot over 40% for the duration of the contest it will be the first game Clemson has done so since December 29th vs. NJIT.

Fun Fact of the First Half:This is the first ever meeting between the Syracuse Orange and Clemson Tigers in Littlejohn Coliseum.

Keys to Victory:

1. Syracuse pressed the Tigers from the opening horn and Clemson struggled to handle the press in the first half. The Tigers need to focus on effectively breaking Syracuse’s full-court press in the second half and limiting turnovers.
2. The Tigers have rebounded well on the defensive end in the first half but not on the offensive end. In the first half Syracuse grabbed eight offensive rebounds and scored ten points off of those rebounds. Clemson needs to box out in the second half and prevent the Orange from getting second chance opportunities.
3. Clemson has to find a way to force Syracuse to score from outside of the paint. The Orange scored 20 of their 33 first half points in the paint.