#22/20 SU Falls Short at #2 Irish, 79-68

Tuesday, February 26

South Bend, Ind.

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

22-5, 10-4

Notre Dame

26-1, 14-0

Syracuse

Notre Dame

Photo by: Joe Raymond

2/26/2013 9:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After leading by as many as 15 in the first half, No. 22/20 Syracuse (22-5, 10-4) fell short in the final frame as No. 2/2 Notre Dame (26-1, 14-0) used a 23-4 run midway through the game to take control and held off a late Orange flurry for a 79-68 victory.

Kayla Alexander led the Orange with 24 points and 16 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season. The senior center scored 16 off her points in a dominant first-half performance. Brittney Sykes also had a double-double, the second of her career, with 11 points and 11 boards, while Carmen Tyson-Thomas had 18 points, seven rebounds and five steals.

On senior Night in the Purcell Pavilion, Kayla McBride led the Notre Dame in scoring with 25 points, while All-American guard Skylar Diggins had 24 points, 21 of which came in the first half, dished out eight assists and had six steals.

Down 16 with nine minutes remaining, Alexander and Tyson-Thomas led a 10-0 Syracuse run, with the latter scoring back-to-back buckets in transition to pull the Orange within six at 65-59, with 5:52 left. After a McBride jumper put Notre Dame back on top by 10 at 71-61,the Orange came within seven twice, on a Tyson-Thomas 3-pointer with 2:25 left and on an Alexander bucket inside with 1:24 left, but baskets by Natalie Achonwa (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Diggins in the final 45 seconds secured the win for the Irish.

An ealrier bucket by Tyson-Thomas had pulled the Orange within four at the 13:03 mark, but Notre Dame responded with a 15-0 run, holding SU scoreless for 4:56 to take a 65-49 lead. Alexander ended the drought with layup with 8:07 remaining.

Notre Dame used a 26-13 rebounding advantage in the second half after the Orange dominated the glass in the first, 32-20.

The Orange took command of the game early with Alexander leading the way. The senior center converted a 3-point play at 15:59 which gave her six points and the Orange a 9-3 lead, forcing Notre Dame center Achonwa to the bench for the rest of the half with her second foul. The Irish started the game 0-of-7 shooting.

The Orange's first-half lead reached its largest, 15 points, on an Alexander bucket at the 12:45 mark that made it a 22-7 game. Alexander went 6-of-6 shooting to start the game, reaching 14 points with a layup at the midway point of the half that gave SU an 11-point lead, 26-17.

After a Elashier Hall drive and layup at the 4:08 mark put SU up, 39-25, Notre Dame finished the half on a 15-4 run, led by Diggins with seven of her 21 first-half points and capped off by Markisha Wright's basket at the buzzer to send the teams into the locker rooms with SU leading, 43-40.

Alexander finished the first half with 16 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-10 shooting, while Brittney Sykes added 11 points and nine boards. SU turned 12 offensive rebounds into a 17-5 second-chance points edge.

Syracuse returns home to host Villanova on Saturday in a 3 p.m. tip-off. The game will be the back end of doubleheader at the Carrier Dome with the men's team, which faces Louisville at noon.