Women's Basketball Season Ends With Thriller In The Bayou

Saturday, March 22

Baton Rouge, La.

2:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

Hartford (NCAA Tournament First Round)

Erica Morrow led the Orange with 17 points, including 10 in the second half

Women's Basketball Season Ends With Thriller In The Bayou

3/22/2008 6:49:45 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score
Post Game Quotes

BATON ROUGE, La. – The seventh-seeded Orange women's basketball team's historical season ended on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a 59-55 loss to tenth-seeded Hartford. Freshman guard Erica Morrow paced Syracuse with 17 points, while senior forward Fantasia Goodwin and junior guard Chandrea Jones posted 13 and 12 points. Syracuse finishes with a 22-9 overall record and Hartford, which is 28-5, advances to face Texas A&M on Monday, March 24 in the second round.

The Orange was playing in its fourth all-time NCAA Tournament and made the big dance by winning a school-record 22 NCAA regular-season games. Second year Syracuse bench general and co-BIG EAST coach of the year Quentin Hillsman mentored Jones to second-team All-BIG EAST accolades and sophomore forward Nicole Michael to her second consecutive honorable mention recognition. Morrow and freshman guard Tasha Harris were named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.

Harris gave SU its last lead of the game, 55-54, when she nailed a jumper near the baseline with just 26 seconds remaining. Hartford junior guard Mary Lynne Schaefer responded with the game-winning three-pointer 10 seconds later and finished with two free throws to seal the win.

The Hawks grabbed its largest lead of the game with a 9-2 run just over the halfway point of the second half. Seven free throws by the Orange inside a 9-1 run erased its seven-point deficit and gave the team its first lead since the 16:25 mark of the second at 5:12.

The lead changed three times before Harris knocked down her baseline jumper.

Harris finished with five points and a team-best five assists. Jones tallied her eighth double-double of the season by grabbing a game-high and SU NCAA Tournament-best 12 boards and leading the Orange to a 47-33 advantage on the glass – the 47 is a Syracuse NCAA postseason record. Michael was second on the team with eight and Goodwin added seven.

Schaefer paced the Hawks with 19 points behind four three-pointers and junior guard Lisa Etienne scored 10 points.

Syracuse shot 27.6 percent (16-58) from the floor, 16.7 percent (2-12) from the range and 87.5 percent (21-24) from the charity stripe, while Hartford shot 34.5 percent (20-58) from the field, 38.1 percent (8-21) from three-point land and 64.7 percent (11-17) from the line.

Hartford came out firing, scoring 10 of the game's first 12 points thanks to three-pointers by junior guard Lisa Etienne and Schaefer. Syracuse bounced right back after the first media timeout and went on a 10-0 run, which started at 14:29 with a trey by Morrow to move the score to 10-5.

Nifty passing by Harris resulted in a layup and one for Goodwin, who finished the half with five points. At the end of the 2:28 minute streak, Syracuse was up 12-10.

The Hawks grabbed the lead again at 7:45 with a jumper by Etienne. After the Orange reclaimed the lead and went up by three (21-19) at 5:19, Hartford used a 6-2 run to take a lead into the half.