Syracuse University
Providence College
Ward Leads Orange Against Providence
1/19/2010 9:58:22 PM | Women's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior forward Juanita Ward led the Orange (15-3, 2-3) in scoring for her second consecutive game with 18 points in Syracuse's 71-69 loss to Providence (12-6, 3-2) on Tuesday evening at Alumni Hall. Ward shot 6-of-8 from the field and 6-of-10 from the charity stripe, helping the Orange to its 75 percent (24-32) free-throw shooting.
“We have to guard the ball,” said head coach Quentin Hillsman. “We can't let them beat us off the basket and get the offensive rebound. That was very hurtful down on our end. You have to be able to get shots to win basketball games, which we couldn't do.”
Freshman center Kayla Alexander backed up Ward with 14 points, while fellow freshman guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas was one point shy of registering a double-double with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds to go along with a team-best three assists. Freshman guard Lynnae Lampkins earned her first career start for an injured junior guard Tasha Harris, who missed her first game in 81 career contests.
The Orange shot 53.8 percent (14-26) in the first half, but was held to 26.9 percent (7-26) in the second. SU's free-throwing shooting kept the game close despite the Friar's 45 percent (9-20) shooting from 3-point range. Providence limited Syracuse to just 23.1 percent (3-13) from behind the arc.
Providence opened up the scoring on a 9-0 run and did not allow an Orange basket until Alexander made a pair of free-throws at the 15:17 mark. Syracuse battled to catch up to the Friars and did so by going on its own 9-0 run and tied things up with the help of a Tyson-Thomas layup with less than 14 minutes remaining in the half.
The Friars doubled SU's score, 18-9, two minutes later and held its largest lead, 25-11, with 10:21 remaining in the half. However, the Orange freshmen kept SU in it, as they accounted for all of Syracuse's points, 25-18, following a 3-ball by Lampkins with less than nine minutes left in the first. Senior forward Nicole Michael found herself in early foul trouble with less than eight minutes remaining, which gave Ward the opportunity to step up, as she scored Syracuse's next 15 points to make the score 40-33 before closing the half with a 46-39 deficit.
The Orange crept within one, 48-47, to open the second half courtesy of back-to-back Michael 3-pointers and took its first lead, 51-50, one minute later after a pair of Tyson-Thomas free-throws. Providence did not allow the lead for long, as it regained the lead with a layup by Brittany Dorsey with 15:50 left in the game. Ward knotted it up, 52-52, moments later, but the Friars continued to increase the separation by as much as eight, 62-54, before SU went on a 6-0 run to narrow the deficit to two, 62-60, with 7:43 remaining.
SU took its third lead of the game after a layup by sophomore guard Tyler Ash with 6:05 remaining and held the two-point lead until the Friars tied the game 67-67 just two minutes later and took the lead for good. Alexander made a final shot from the charity stripe before the Orange settled with the 71-69 loss.
The Friars finished with a trio of scorers in double-digits, including Chelsea Marandola, who led all scorers with 19 points and five assists, Emily Cornoyer (18) and Dorsey (12).
The Orange concludes its three-game road trip when it travels to Louisville on Saturday, January 23 for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
