Syracuse University
Marquette University
Michael Leads Orange Past Marquette
2/6/2010 3:30:56 PM | Women's Basketball
Box Score | Coach Hillsman Quotes | Player Postgame Quotes
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Senior forward Nicole Michael scored a game-high 18 points as she led the Syracuse University women's basketball team (18-5, 5-5) to a 69-60 victory against Marquette on Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome. It was the second consecutive game Michael has led the Orange in scoring and marked the team's third straight win against the Golden Eagles.
Freshman guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas backed up Michael off the bench with a career-high 14 points on a career-best 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc, while also adding a game-high nine rebounds. Senior forward Juanita Ward was among SU's other double-digit scorers as she pitched in 12 points.
The Orange shot 45.3 percent (24-53) from the floor while holding the Golden Eagles to 32.8 percent (22-67). SU kept itself in the game with its precision 80.0 percent (16-20) shooting from the free-throw line, compared to Marquette's 69.2 percent (9-13) shooting. Despite committing 22 turnovers in the game, the Orange only turned the ball over five times in the second half to manage the victory.
Both teams got off to a slow start as the game remained tied, 2-2, until the Orange took the two-point advantage three minutes into the game. Marquette took the 7-4 lead after a 5-0 run and continued to hold the advantage until Michael hit a 3-pointer with 10:36 remaining to make the score 13-9 in SU's favor. MU's Lauren Thomas-Johnson answered with her own 3-ball to give the Golden Eagles the 16-14 edge with 9:23 left, but the Orange responded as freshman center Kayla Alexander knotted it up at 16-16 with 6:37 left on the clock.
Marquette took its largest lead, 26-16, courtesy of consecutive 3-pointers by Courtney Weibel with 3:07 left before halftime, but a 7-0 Orange run helped SU narrow it to a three-point game, 26-23, with 1:12 remaining. MU made one last layup with 40 ticks remaining to give the Golden Eagles the 28-23 lead going into the locker room.
Ward scored within the first 20 seconds to start cutting into the MU lead and made another bucket moments later to make the score 30-27. Back-to-back layups by Ward sparked an 8-0 Syracuse run as the Orange took a 39-33 lead and did not allow any Marquette points for nearly three minutes. The Golden Eagles came within two, 39-37, but the Orange scored seven unanswered to increase its lead, 46-37, with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Just as Marquette began catching up to SU, Tyson-Thomas nailed a 3-pointer to keep the 52-44 advantage with less than eight minutes left in the game. The Orange continued to hold at least a four-point lead until Tyson-Thomas hit her third 3-ball of the afternoon to give SU a 57-50 lead. The Golden Eagles tried clawing their way back, but Tyson-Thomas made a jumper to make the score 59-55 with less than three minutes left. MU brought it within two once again, but Morrow hit five consecutive free-throws to maintain a 64-57 lead. Marquette's Angel Robinson made a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to pull within four, but Michael was fouled after a layup on the ensuing play and converted it into a three-point play to keep the 67-60 lead. Morrow iced two additional freebies in the final seconds to settle the final score, 69-60.
The Orange travels to Villanova on Tuesday, February 9 for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The game will be televised on CBS College Sports.
