A Look Back at Women's Hoops 2010-11
5/9/2011 3:19:17 PM | Women's Basketball
Yaribeth Peralta & James Hallas
Final Release
The 2010-11 season proved to be one of the most successful campaigns in Syracuse University women's basketball history. The program advanced to its fourth consecutive postseason and won a school-record 25 games for the second straight season. SU ended its season with a 25-10 record and advanced to the WNIT Quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
The Orange opened the season on an eight-game winning streak, highlighted by an 87-17 thrashing of Delaware State and a 75-66 victory versus No. 6 Ohio State. Syracuse set a program-record for largest margin of victory in its 70-point win against the Hornets. Sophomore center Kayla Alexander earned BIG EAST Player of the Week honors for her nine-point, nine-block effort against Delaware State and her previous 27-point performance versus Maryland Eastern Shore.
Senior guard Erica Morrow led the Orange in its victory against the Buckeyes with a 27-point outburst on 10-of-18 shooting. It marked the fourth straight season Syracuse has defeated a ranked opponent. Morrow earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for her performance.
SU's eight-game winning streak was snapped by No. 2 Baylor in the first-round of the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout. Syracuse bounced back with a 77-58 win against Clemson in the consolation game of the shootout. Alexander and junior guard Iasia Hemingway were both named to the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout All-Tournament team. Alexander scored 27 points and ripped down 11 rebounds in the two tournament games, while Hemingway tallied 31 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Hemingway also earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll accolades for her performance in the tournament.
SU returned home for three more victories before beginning BIG EAST Conference play in January. Alexander was named BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time by scoring 63 points and recording 33 rebounds during the three-game stretch, which included wins against St. Francis (94-60), Bryant (94-31) and Arkansas Pine-Bluff (91-56). Syracuse has won 29 of its last 30 games in the month of December dating back to Dec. 22, 2006. The Orange finished its nonconference schedule with a 12-1 record.
The Orange opened conference play with an 80-62 setback to No. 14/15 Georgetown. The Orange redeemed itself with a 75-50 win at the Carrier Dome against Seton Hall in which sophomore guard Elashier Hall broke out with 16 points and 3-of-5 shooting from the 3-point line. Hall earned her first career BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll appearance for her efforts against the Hoyas and Pirates.
Syracuse suffered two consecutive losses against Rutgers (78-67) and No. 6/7 West Virginia (71-60) to move its record to 13-4 overall and 1-3 in the BIG EAST. Hall continued to score in bunches during the setbacks with 23 points against the Scarlet Knights and 20 points versus the Mountaineers.
SU bounced back by earning its first BIG EAST road win at Marquette. Hemingway and Alexander both notched double-doubles in the 69-63 comeback victory. The Orange carried the momentum into wins against Pittsburgh (69-60) and South Florida (78-57). Morrow led the Orange with 17 points and five assists against the Panthers, while Alexander dropped 17 points on the Bulls.
Syracuse's three-game winning streak came to an end with a 71-48 defeat to No. 8/8 Notre Dame. SU went on to lose at Rutgers (74-54) and to No. 10/14 DePaul (77-61) to move to 16-7, 4-6. Despite the loss, sophomore guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas earned a spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll by recording her eighth double-double of the season against the Blue Demons with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The Orange redeemed itself in a big way, closing out the regular season by winning five of its last six games. SU posted five consecutive wins against Villanova (70-49), Louisville (53-45), rv/22 St. John's (78-67), Cincinnati (55-53) and Providence (63-47). It marked the first time Syracuse won five straight BIG EAST games since the 1987-88 season. During the five-game winning streak, SU out-rebounded its opponents 222-152. Hemingway came on strong throughout the steak, averaging 12.2 points and 8.0 rebounds. Alexander earned her third BIG EAST Player of the Week award for her 26-point, eight rebound effort against the Red Storm. Syracuse ended the regular season with an 82-47 setback at No. 1/1 Connecticut.
Syracuse opened postseason play at the BIG EAST Tournament with a 74-44 win against Seton Hall. The Orange continued its season-long dominance on the glass by outrebounding the Pirates, 39-25. Hemingway led all players with game-highs of 17 points and five assists. Senior guard Tasha Harris posted a season-high nine points on 3-of-3 3-point shooting.
SU's BIG EAST Tournament run came to an end with a hard-fought 61-60 loss to No. 17/19 Georgetown in the second round. Hall scored a team-best 16 points and hit a career-high four 3-point field goals.
Syracuse earned its third straight WNIT bid. The Orange went on to win three games in the WNIT Tournament, defeating Monmouth (77-53), St. Bonaventure (63-52) and Eastern Michigan (72-63). Hemingway proved to be a clutch performer by averaging team-bests of 20.3 points and 11.7 rebounds in the victories. She notched double-doubles against St. Bonaventure and Eastern Michigan. Alexander also played well over the same stretch, averaging 18 points per contest.
SU's season ended in the WNIT Quarterfinals with a 71-68 overtime loss at Toledo. Morrow gave a valiant effort in her final career game, pacing the Orange with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and five rebounds.
The Orange completed its season with a .714 winning percentage, its best since it began competing in the NCAA in 1981-82. It outrebounded 31 of its 35 opponents by an average of 13.4, ranking first in the nation and the BIG EAST.
Alexander was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. She led the team in points (14.8), blocks (2.6), field-goal percentage (.549) and free-throw percentage (.766). Her 91 blocks set an SU single-season record.
Hemingway earned All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention accolades after leading the Orange in rebounds (7.4) and placing second in points (12.7) and assists (2.5). She posted a team-high nine double-doubles.
Morrow finished her career on the top of many records lists. She ended her career as Syracuse's all-time leader in minutes played with 4,163. Morrow is second on SU's all-time scoring chart with 1,658 points. The senior ended the year leading the team in steals (2.0) and minutes played (31.6). She averaged double-figures for her fourth consecutive season with 10.1 points.
Harris completed her career as SU's all-time leader in games played (133) and games started (132). She is second on the all-time assists list with 536. Harris led the team with 4.1 assists per game, while averaging 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per in 2010-11.
The Orange returns eleven players and three starters for the 2011-12 season. These include All-Big East performers Alexander and Hemingway, starting guard Hall and do-it-all sixth-man Tyson Thomas.
