With 4:04 left in the first quarter during Syracuse’s 81-70 overtime win over Stony Brook on Nov. 30, SBU’s Cheyenne Clark got past her defender and drove the open lane. Digna Strautmane, late on the rotation, scrambled to get in position and threw her hands up to stop the shot.

Clark drove her shoulder into the 6-foot-2 Strautmane’s chest and missed. Before the ball could roll away, the referee made his call: blocking foul on Strautmane. SU head coach Quentin Hillsman pursed his lips and wiped away forehead sweat. He’s grown accustomed to managing foul trouble early in the season, and this game would be no different.

Despite Syracuse’s (8-0) undefeated start, its two tallest players, Strautmane and freshman center Amaya Finklea-Guity, haven’t been a consistent factor. The lack of production stems from the frontcourt’s foul trouble. Strautmane has accumulated the most personal fouls on the team (27) and has recorded at least four fouls in half the team’s games. Finklea-Guity is tied for third in fouls (16) and has played more than 19 minutes just twice. Hillsman has attributed the fouls to poor on-ball defense by SU’s guards and poor positioning by the forwards.

“They’re both freshmen,” Hillsman said. “This is their first college games. They have a lot of responsibility.”

When on the court, the pair contribute. Strautmane leads the team in rebounds per game (8.3) and blocks (19). Finklea-Guity ranks fourth in rebounds (4.9) and second in blocks (6).

The duo will look to stay out of foul trouble against a Colgate team that sports four forwards taller than 6 feet on Wednesday night in the Carrier Dome.

“We know better,” Finklea-Guity said. “We just have to be more aware of those silly little mistakes…There’s only two of us right now.”

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Syracuse only has three bigs on its active roster: Miranda Drummond, Strautmane and Finklea-Guity. When on the court together, they anchor SU’s 2-3 zone. Drummond, 6-foot-1, and Strautmane flank out wide. Finklea-Guity is 6-foot-4 and protects the rim. On SU’s bench, there is no player taller than 5-foot-9. So, when a member of Syracuse’s frontcourt gets in foul trouble, opponents have exploited the height advantage.

In Syracuse’s most recent contest against Stony Brook, Strautmane committed her second foul with more than seven minutes left in the first half. Before she could receive a third, Hillsman benched her for Finklea-Guity. Two minutes later, Finklea-Guity earned her second foul and in another two minutes joined Strautmane on the sidelines. To replace Finklea-Guity, Hillsman turned to 5-foot-8 Jasmine Nwajei. The Orange were outrebounded by the Seawolves, 7-1, and allowed four layups to close the half after Finklea-Guity exited the game.

“We need to guard out the man that we’re on,” guard Tiana Mangakahia said, “and make sure that they don’t get into foul trouble by helping.”

In overtime against Stony Brook, a help-defense foul occurred with 2:51 left in the period. A Seawolves’ guard had broken through the zone and charged down the baseline. Strautmane switched over but didn’t set her feet and was called for her fifth foul of the game. For the second time this season, Strautmane fouled out.

Part of the issue, Hillsman said, is Strautmane and Finklea-Guity committing “guard fouls,” such as slapping a player when going for a steal or reaching over an offensive player’s back to tip a pass away. Instead, Hillsman wants his forwards to save the fouls for later in the game, when tighter, foul-prone defense is necessary.

Finklea-Guity started her Syracuse career with 23 points in two games. Over the next six games she’s scored 27 total. Strautmane led SU in its season-opening win against Morgan State on Nov. 10 as she dropped 17 points, pulled down 11 boards, blocked four shots and assisted on three others. Since then, she hasn’t scored double-digit points. Both figure to be a part of SU’s future success, if they can stay on the court and out of foul trouble.

“I want to play,” Strautmane said. “If I want to play, I’ll have to keep myself in a good position so I don’t get fouls.”

Published on December 6, 2017 at 12:42 am

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez