Syracuse University
Providence
Jones Nets 11th Double-Double in Victory
3/2/2009 9:15:28 PM | Women's Basketball
Box Score | Coach Hillsman Postgame | Players Postgame
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse women's basketball team (16-13, 5-11) had five players score in double-digits for the first time since the Orange hosted Longwood at Manley Field House on Nov. 30 en route to capping the regular season with a 78-72 victory against Providence on Monday night at the Carrier Dome.
In her final regular season contest at the Carrier Dome, senior guard Chandrea Jones locked up her team-best 11th double-double of the season behind 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Jones matched a season-best with four assists and added two blocks and a steal in SU's triumph. Jones has reached double figures in her last 12 consecutive outings and has led the Orange in rebounding on a club-best 13 instances.
Junior forward Nicole Michael hit the 22-point plateau for the second straight game while leading Syracuse in scoring for the sixth time this season. The Queens, N.Y. native accrued her 21st double-digit game, including her seventh uninterrupted, and 16th of the last 17 games.
Sophomore guard Erica Morrow accounted for 13 points along with a season-best and game-high seven assists while junior forward Juanita Ward notched her first double-digit performance since scoring 15 against Villanova on Jan. 31. Junior forward Vionca Murray rounded out SU's fifth top scorer with 10 points and a career-best six offensive boards.
Syracuse's largest lead of the contest came at the 17:45 mark when the Orange enjoyed a 23-point cushion, but Providence whittled SU's lead down to four with 1:27 remaining in the game.
Syracuse connected on 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc, marking its highest conversion rate from downtown this season.
The Orange set the precedent early by springing out to a 20-10 lead with 13:44 to play in the first half by going 8-of-16 (50.0 percent) from the field, converting 3-of-4 from downtown. Morrow hammered home a pair of treys while Michael hit one in the first six and half minutes.
In the next four minute stretch, Syracuse stretched its lead by 14 points, 30-16, with 9:38 remaining in the opening half. The Orange used a 10-6 run, including Morrow's third 3-ball, to maintain its lofty safeguard.
From 7:04 to 4:51, neither team was able to convert, but Michael broke the draught with an acrobatic shot off the glass as she was falling over to keep SU ahead by 14, 35-21.
Ward swished two spot-up jumpers at 8:04 and 3:33 to touch upon a 17-point lead twice, the largest of the first session, before Jones pulled up from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded to add another dagger heading into the break ahead by 17 once again, 44-27.
The Orange's 17-point advantage at the half is the largest lead SU has owned since it was up by 18 against Delaware State on Dec. 6, 32-14. Both Morrow and Michael led the Orange with 11 points apiece at the break while Jones rounded up nine boards in the first 20 minutes.
Michael made her mark out of the gates in the second half, scoring the first five points to keep the Orange ahead by 22, 49-27, at the 18:17 mark, but Providence responded with a 12-3 run, capped by a Lola Wells trifecta at 12:49, to cut SU's lead to 13, 52-39.
The Friars slashed SU's lead down to 10 four times, with the latest coming at the 5:48 mark, but a deep ball by sophomore guard Tasha Harris and a traditional 3-point play from Ward at 3:54 subdued the Friars by 15, 70-55.
Emily Cournoyer's layup at 3:29 elicited a 15-4 run for the Friars to crawl within four points, 74-70, funneling down to the 1:27 mark, but Providence had to send Syracuse to the line as time continued to melt off the clock. Jones and Michael each converted a pair of free tosses down the stretch to set the final, 78-72.
Syracuse earned itself a No. 12 seed for the 2009 BIG EAST Championship at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. The Orange's opponent is still to be determined, but SU will play on Friday at noon in the first round of the conference tournament.
