Tuesday, December 20
Albany, N.Y.
5:00 p.m.
Syracuse University
70
at
52
Albany
Vaida Sipaviciute scored 31 points while grabbing 12 rebounds for the Orange.
Orange Uses Second Half Run To Defeat Albany, 70-52
12/20/2005 8:40:40 PM | Women's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – With the Orange ahead by one, 41-40, midway through the second half, sophomore Vaida Sipaviciute (Kaunas, Lithuania) and junior Ashley McMillen (Penfield, N.Y.) sparked a decisive 22-2 run to defeat Albany, 70-52, on Dec. 20 at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Sipaviciute led the way for SU with 31 points and 12 rebounds in the game.
Sipaviciute scored 13 of the Orange points in the winning scoring stretch, while McMillen added six. After the streak, SU held a commanding 63-42 lead with five minutes left.
Sipaviciute’s 31 point, 12 rebound performance was her fifth double-double of the 2005-06 campaign and the eighth time in 10 games she reached the 20-point mark. Twenty-three of her game-best 31 points came after halftime. She is the first SU student-athlete since Julie McBride in 2003-04 to have a pair of 30-point performances in the same season. Sipaviciute scored a school-record 41 points against Colgate on Nov. 29.
McMillen earned her first start of the season tonight, playing 39 minutes and going 4-for-9 from beyond the arc. She finished with 12 points.
Freshman Brittany Smith (Milwaukee, Wisc.) notched three new career highs with 10 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes of court action. Classmate Jenny Eckhart (Libertyville, Ill.) also scored in double figures for the Orange with 11 points.
The Orange led by as many as seven in the first half at 17-10. Down 20-15, Albany went on an 8-2 run to take a 23-22 advantage with 3:27 remaining in the opening frame. The Great Danes held a 28-25 lead late in the half, but Sipaviciute tallied the final four points in the half to give SU a 29-28 lead heading into the locker room.
In the second half, the two teams stayed close until the 12:23 mark when SU went on the decisive 22-2 scoring stretch. The Orange shot 57.7 percent on 15-26 shooting in the half and outscored the Great Danes, 41-24, after halftime. The SU defense held Albany to 26.3 percent from the field on 10-of-38 shooting in the final frame.
For Albany (3-5), Gia Sanders scored 12 points while Amanda Ward added 10. Joe Sterling was strong on the glass with 12 boards.
Albany's 52 points marked the fewest points SU allowed this season.
Syracuse (6-4) is back in action on Thursday, Dec. 22, when it hosts Quinnipiac in the Dome for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
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