#20 SU Loses to Villanova in 3OT Thriller

Saturday, March 2

Carrier Dome

3:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

22-6, 10-5

Villanova

19-9, 8-7

OT 1

OT 2

OT 3

Villanova

Syracuse

Senior Carmen Tyson-Thomas scored 22 points against Villanova.

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

3/2/2013 5:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, NY - The #22/20 Syracuse women's basketball team suffered its first loss at home this season, falling to Villanova, 77-75, in a thrilling game that went three overtimes on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. Seniors Carmen Tyson-Thomas and Kayla Alexander each scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The Orange is now 22-6 overall and 10-5 in BIG EAST play.

Tyson-Thomas was 4-for-8 from behind the arc against the Wildcats. Senior Elashier Hall contributed 14 points and nine rebounds for Syracuse while Brittney Sykes scored eight and had had a team-high two steals.

"I thought that down the stretch we had some shots at the rim, but we didn't compete in the overtimes to win the game," said head coach Quentin Hillsman. "I thought we had some easy shots that we just missed, but other than that, it's tough to explain. I thought we gave up coverage a couple of times over the course of the game. I don't think those were things that necessarily killed us, I just think we can't shoot 36 percent in a game unless we have 82 attempts at the rim."

The contest featured 19 lead changes and 14 ties. This was the second time this season that the Orange went into overtime. The Orange had defeated Georgia Tech on Nov. 23, 75-72, in overtime.

It was the first triple-overtime game for Syracuse since 102-95 win vs. Lafayette on Dec. 4, 1998. It was the first BIG EAST regular season triple overtime game since Feb. 9, 1993.

During the third overtime, the Orange found themselves trailing Villanova, 77-72. Tyson-Thomas' 3-pointer put the Orange within two with 1:05 left, but Villanova held off SU's attempt to tie the game yet again and won its second-straight game against the Orange, 77-75.

The Wildcats opened up the first overtime with a 3-pointer from Rachel Roberts. Tyson-Thomas was the Orange hero again, this time hitting a 3-pointer 13 seconds left to tie up the overtime period. The Orange defense stood strong and held the Wildcats last offensive attempt off, forcing the game into a second overtime.

The second overtime was another battle back and forth between the two conference opponents. Five straight-points by Alexander gave the Orange a 67-64 lead with 1:26 left. Another 3-pointer by Roberts tied up the ball game, 67-67. On its last possession SU couldn't score the game-winning basket and the game headed into its third overtime.

Roberts had 20 points for Villanova while Laura Sweeney led all Wildcats in scoring with 29 points. Devon Kane also scored in double-digits, recording 10 points.

In the first half, shot 40.0 percent from the field. The two teams traded baskets in the first four minutes of the game before an 8-0 run by Syracuse propelled the Orange to a 15-10 lead at 13:16. After the Villanova tied up the game at 15-15, the Orange put together another run, this time 6-0, taking a 21-15 lead at 9:23.

The Orange held a one-point lead at intermission, 31-30.

Coming out of the break, Hall scored back-to-back baskets to help SU to a 35-30 advantage.

Villanova then completed a 9-0 run to jump ahead, 39-35. During the run, Sweeney scored six of the Wildcat's points. A 3-point basket by Tyson-Thomas put the Orange within one point, 39-38, at 12:56.

The teams continued to trade leads until Alexander completed a three-point play after being fouled. SU then led Villanova, 49-48 with 3:02 left in the contest.

With 1:42 remaining in the game, Tyson-Thomas' 3-point shot gave Orange a 52-50 advantage. Neither team found the basket until there was just 1.8 seconds left. Villanova's Kane hit a layup, sending the game into overtime.

Syracuse hosts Louisville at the Carrier Dome in its last home game of the regular season on Monday at 9 p.m. (CBSSN). SU's four seniors will be honored at the game.