Syracuse University
University of Connecticut
Orange Defeated by No. 1 UConn, 87-66
2/24/2010 9:52:47 PM | Women's Basketball
Box Score | Coach Hillsman Quotes | Player Postgame Quotes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse University women's basketball team (19-8, 6-8) was defeated, 87-66, by No. 1/1 Connecticut (28-0, 14-0) in front of 3,230 fans at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday evening. The Orange was led by three players who each scored 11 points, including senior forward Juanita Ward, junior guard Erica Morrow and freshman guard Elashier Hall, who set a career-high. Ward also recorded a team-best six rebounds.
Syracuse was unable to contain junior Maya Moore, who was averaging 18.1 points going into the contest and recorded 38 points against the Orange, while pulling down 20 of the team's 50 rebounds. The Huskies shot 45.8 percent (27-59) from the field, including 38.9 percent (7-18) from 3-point range, while holding the Orange to 36.8 percent (25-68) in field goal shooting, including just 21.1 percent (4-19) from behind the arc.
The Huskies' opened up the scoring, but Ward followed suite seconds later to keep it a close, 3-2, in the opening minute. UConn then went on a 7-0 run before doubling SU's score, 14-7, 14:17 into the game. After a Morrow breakaway layup, Syracuse crept within six, 19-13, while a Michael 3-pointer narrowed the deficit, 23-19, with 10:11 left before the break.
Moore scored the next five points to give the Huskies a 28-19 lead with 8:12 remaining, while Caroline Doty gave the Huskies its first double-digit lead, 34-23, three minutes later. The Orange fought back to make it a seven-point game, 34-27, but the Huskies responded with a 15-2 run to hold its largest lead of the half, 49-29, with 1:02 left. The Orange went on to score four unanswered points to close out the half with a 49-33 score.
The game remained scoreless for the first minute of the second half until senior forward Vionca Murray made a layup before the Huskies' caught the momentum and stretched its lead back to 20, 57-37, with 16:31 left in the game. Back-to-back free throws by Ward at 13:02 made the score 63-44, but UConn continued to knock down its shots to hold the 65-44 advantage with 12:47 remaining.
Morrow was ejected from the game at the 12-minute mark, which kept the momentum on UConn's side as it went on to hold its largest lead of the game, 78-48, backed by two consecutive Moore 3-pointers with 8:14 left. The Orange attempted to overcome the deficit, but couldn't come closer than 21 points to settle the final 87-66 score.
With the win, Connecticut extended its winning-streak to 67 games, which is the second-longest winning streak in Division I history. Moore's offensive attack was backed by Tiffany Hayes, who scored 22 points.
The Orange will play its final road contest of the regular season when it travels to DePaul on Saturday, February 27 at 8 p.m. ET.
