Isabella Slim hears her name announced in the starting lineup and runs through a tunnel of her teammates. The game starts and she goes to her spots on the court, the outside of the 2-3 zone on defense and the corners on offense trying to stretch the floor.

That routine has been consistent for Slim throughout her entire career, each of the 125 games she’s played and started in. What’s become different is how long she’s staying on the court.

In the previous three years, Slim averaged 12.5 minutes per game, with her career average dropping by about a minute from her freshman to her junior year. She’d normally get subbed out a few minutes into the first quarter. But this year, she’s playing 26.6 minutes per game.

“I was hoping I was going to play more,” Slim said, “and I kind of knew I was going to play more. I didn’t expect to play this many minutes, but I’m not complaining.

Last year, the Orange had a deep and experienced bench unit, led by Cornelia Fondren (26.6 minutes per game), Maggie Morrison (15.0), Bria Day (12.0) and Taylor Ford (10.9). Day is the only one still around. The forced minute redistribution has made the power forward integral for this year’s Syracuse (15-7, 6-3 Atlantic Coast).

In the preseason, there were thoughts Slim would be the one to receive an uptick in minutes. SU head coach Quentin Hillsman stressed how his team needed to rely on its veterans with such a young bench. Carla Norris, Alexis Peterson’s aunt, said that from what she had heard, seen and believed, this was going to be Slim’s year to breakout.

There has been some inconsistency, like getting 14 rebounds in a loss to Georgia Tech then nabbing just one against then-No. 14 Miami. But the coaching staff still trusts her.

“I think Isabella … she knows our scheme,” assistant coach Tammi Reiss said. “She knows our defense, and she can shoot the ball.”

But Reiss also added she thinks it’s been tough for Slim to adjust to her new role simply because she’s never played that many minutes in her career.

Slim herself has said one thing she’s tried to do better is divide her energy. She used to just come in and give everything she had, knowing she wouldn’t play too much later on in the game. Now, she wants to have the energy to maintain a consistent level when the third and fourth quarters roll around.

Slim hasn’t necessarily had a breakout year. But she’s been averaging career-bests in field goal percentage (30.1), 3-point percentage (28.6) rebounds (4.3) and points (5.0).

She averages about one made 3-pointer per game, and her ability from long range is her main contribution when she’s on the court. The other power forwards and centers on the team who have been playing recently don’t stretch the floor. Alongside the other starters, she opens up lanes, usually camping on the 3-point line opposite of Gabby Cooper, allowing driving lanes for Peterson and Brittney Sykes.

“It helps us,” Sykes said of having Slim on the court more. “It gives us more leadership.”

Still, even with Slim’s improvements, there have been times that SU’s needed more. Reiss has regularly talked about needing to find another scoring option to alleviate the scoring load for Peterson and Sykes. Although her 14 rebounds against GT were big, she went 0-for-5 from the field and scored just two points.

Whether Slim ends up taking on more of a consistent scoring load remains to be seen. For now, she’s trying to make the most of the opportunity.

“It’s just really exciting to be playing a lot,” Slim said “… I just want to contribute to help my team win.”

Published on January 30, 2017 at 10:53 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer