Syracuse University
Ohio
Orange Tops Ohio In Vegas Finale, 81-70
12/20/2011 3:51:55 PM | Women's Basketball
LAS VEGAS - Iasia Hemingway scored a game-high 24 points, including nine in a row for the Orange in a key late run to lead Syracuse women's basketball (9-4) to an 81-70 victory over Ohio (6-7) on the final day of the Duel In The Desert at UNLV's Cox Pavilion on Tuesday afternoon. Hemingway finished with 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season while Carmen Tyson-Thomas added 22 points.
Elashier Hall (13) and Shakeya Leary (10) rounded out the four players in double figures as Syracuse shot a season-high 50.8 percent from the field. The Orange totaled 17 assists with Rachel Coffey dishing out a game-high six.
The Orange led from the 19:10 mark of the second half on. The lead reached as much as eight before a 8-2 Ohio stretch cut the lead to just two, 64-62 with 7:13 left, but the Orange responded with a back-to-back jumpers by Tyson-Thomas, and later seven-straight points from Hemingway, as part of the key 11-2 run that gave SU a controlling 11-point lead, 75-64, with 3:13 to go.
After an Ashley Fowler 3-pointer nine seconds into the second half gave the Bobcats a two-point lead, the Orange went on a 9-0 run over 2:45 to take the lead, 51-44. Tyson-Thomas hit back-to-back jumpers to close out that run.
The Orange shot 49 percent in the first half and racked up 12 assists, including five from Coffey, but the Bobcats went 11-of-14 at the free throw line to keep the game close. Hemingway and Leary each scored 10 points.
The Orange jumped out to an early 16-8 lead five and a half minutes in, collecting six assists on the first seven field goals. Leary led the early charge with six points, but the Bobcats responded with a 12-2 run over 3:24 to its first lead of the game, 20-18 with 11:12 left in the half when Mariah Byard sank three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt.
The teams had eight ties and six lead changes in the opening 20 minutes as it was back and forth following each team's early run. Shanee Williams' short jumper in the closing seconds sent the Orange into halftime with a 42-41 lead.
The Orange returns home to host a pair of games following the holiday break. SU will host Niagara on Dec. 29 at the Carrier Dome in a 7 p.m. tip and Colgate comes to town for a New Year's Eve matinee beginning at noon.
