Orange Pulls Away Late To Earn 72-63 Victory Against EMU

Thursday, March 24

Carrier Dome

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

Eastern Michigan University

Junior guard Iasia Hemingway recorded a double-double in Syracuse's 72-63 victory against EMU on Thursday, Mar. 24

Orange Pulls Away Late To Earn 72-63 Victory Against EMU

3/24/2011 6:48:55 PM | Women's Basketball

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	1st	2nd	F
Eastern Michigan	32	31	63
-/rv Syracuse	34	38	72

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Junior guard Iasia Hemingway recorded her second consecutive double-double to lead -/rv Syracuse (25-9) to a 72-63 victory against Eastern Michigan (24-13) in the third round of the WNIT on Thursday, March 24. With the win, the Orange advances to the quarterfinals of the tournament and will play at Toledo on Sunday, March 27 at 2 p.m.

Hemingway netted a career-high 29 points and tallied 10 rebounds in the contest. Senior guard Erica Morrow and sophomore center Kayla Alexander also recorded double-digit points in the win. Morrow registered 10 points and eight boards, while Alexander added 16 points of her own. Sophomore guard Elashier Hall led SU with 13 rebounds in the outing.

As a team, SU made use of costly EMU fouls, shooting 88.2 percent (15-17) for the game from the line. The Orange out-rebounded the Eagles, 44-30, in the squad's 42nd consecutive non-conference home victory.

Eastern Michigan drew first blood in the game with a layup from down low, but the Hall quickly put the Orange on the board with a deep three. Layups from Hemingway and sophomore guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas sparked a 6-0 run for SU, to give the squad a 9-2 lead with 15 minutes to go in the first half.

EMU scored a quick seven thanks to costly fouls on SU, cutting to Syracuse's advantage to 12-9 with 12 minutes left in the first. Alexander scored on a put-back and Hemingway completed a three-point play, but the Eagles dialed up two threes from long distance to pull within two.

The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes, but strong work at the line allowed the Orange to pull away, taking a 25-19 lead that lasted until the six minute mark.

A five-point run by EMU cut SU's advantage to three, but Alexander netted a bucket from the paint to give the Orange a 29-24 lead with 3:40 to play in the first. Alexander drained two free throws after taking a hard foul and senior guard Tasha Harris followed with a three-point jumper from the corner to make it a 34-27 game with two minutes to go in the half. The Eagles were able to add five points before the buzzer to close the gap, but the Orange held on to a 34-32 lead heading into the locker room.

Alexander netted a quick four coming out of halftime to make it a six point game. Morrow hit a jumper with just over 16 minutes left in the game to put SU up, 40-34. EMU's Tavelyn James buried a three to close Syracuse's lead to just one, but Alexander took it to the hole once again to make it a 46-43 game with 12:40 remaining.

The Eagles hit a three-point jumper to tie the score for the first time in the game, but Morrow countered with a rainmaker of her own, giving her team a 49-46 advantage with 11:30 to go. The squads battled offensively, as EMU tied the score twice more in the next two minutes, before Morrow put SU on top, 56-53, with another bucket from beyond the arc. The Orange maintained a three-point buffer, as Hemingway drained two free throws to make it a 60-57 game with under seven minutes to play.

Paige Redditt hit four straight free throws for EMU to give the squad its only lead since the first minute of the game. Hemingway quickly put SU back up, 63-61, as she netted a free throw and grabbed her own rebound on her second attempt to put it back in for two. Fouled again, Hemingway extended Syracuse's lead to four with three minutes to play. The Orange used a costly shot clock violation to break the game open, as Hall nailed a three and Alexander netted a layup to give SU a 70-61 lead with just over a minute to play. A steal by Morrow in the final seconds of the game allowed the Orange to run out the clock and earn a 72-63 victory.