Saturday, March 23
Knoxville, Tenn.
11:20 a.m.
Syracuse University
24-8
56
vs
61
Creighton
25-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creighton | 24 | 37 | 61 |
| Syracuse | 24 | 32 | 56 |
Kayla Alexander led SU in its NCAA Tournament loss with 23 points.
Photo by: Wade Rackley
3/23/2013 1:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery
VIDEO: Recap | Press Conference Video
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – One of the most successful seasons in program history came to a close for No. 7-seeded Syracuse women's basketball on Saturday, losing to No. 10 Creighton, 61-56, at Thompson-Boiling Arena in the NCAA Tournament first round. In her final game in Orange, senior Kayla Alexander led SU with 23 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Brittney Sykes led the Orange on the boards, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds while scoring five points.
The Orange concludes the 2012-13 season with a 24-8 record, the program's best winning percentage (.750) in the NCAA era and second-best overall (26-8, .765 in 1980-81). Its 24 wins is the fourth-most in program history.
Seventeen of Alexander's points came in the second half and the senior went 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Fellow seniors Carmen Tyson-Thomas and Elashier Hall scored 13 and seven points, respectively. Junior Rachel Coffey dished out six assists.
The Bluejays were 11-for-36 from behind the arc and were led Mckenzie Fujan's 24 points. Coming into the first round game, Creighton was second in the country in 3-point field goals per game (9.3) and was 12th in the nation in shooting percentage behind the arc (.361).
The Orange outscored the Bluejays 28-18 in the paint and scored 23 points off of its 19 turnovers.
After a tie score, 24-24, at halftime, the Bluejays used a 7-0 run out of the locker room to take a 33-26 lead. Alexander answered with seven-straight points of her own and tied up the contest, 33-33.
Creighton took back the lead following a 6-0 run at 13:17 thanks to back-to-back layups from Nelson.
The Orange climbed within two points of the Bluejays' 39-37 lead before an 8-0 run by Creighton had them at its largest lead of the game, 47-37, with 8:39 remaining.
Alexander's five straight points followed by a 3-point basket by Tyson-Thomas at 4:07 cut the deficit to five points, 55-50. Alexander added another layup and SU was only down by three, 55-52, with 2:27 on the clock.
With just 57.4 seconds remaining, Hall hit her two free throws to keep SU within three points, 57-54. On the Bluejays' next possession, the Orange forced a turnover which turned into a layup by Tyson-Thomas. The Orange trailed by one point, 57-56, with one second left.
After SU was forced to foul, two Bluejays made both of their free throw shots, and the Orange were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, 61-56.
SU opened up the game with an early, 4-2, lead following four-straight free throws. A 3-pointer by Coffey broke open the Orange's lead to 7-2 at 15:05.
Brianna Butler's shot from behind the arc was good at 12:52 and the Orange led, 10-5. Creighton put together a 6-0 run at 9:04 to climb within three points, 14-11 but a bucket by Alexander kept SU in the lead, 16-11.
Creighton took the lead for the first time in the game at 2:32, 21-20, following Fujan's fifth 3-point basket of the half. The Orange responded with four straight points, but Creighton's Sarah Nelson completed a 3-point play to tie up the game 24-24, heading into halftime.
With the victory, Creighton advances to the second round and will face the winner of No. 2 Tennessee (24-7) and No. 15 Oral Roberts (18-12) on Monday.
NOTES: Syracuse is now 0-5 in NCAA Tournament games ... Alexander's 23 points set a Syracuse NCAA Tournament record, breaking the mark of 17 held by Tonya Hendrix (1988 vs. Ohio State), Sue Ludwig (1998 vs. Ohio State) and Erica Morrow (2008 vs. Hartford) … Alexander scored 20 or more points for the 13th time this season and led the Orange in scoring for the 19th time in 32 games … Alexander finishes her career with 2,024 points, the most in SU history ... Tyson-Thomas' 13-point effort was her 18th double-figure game of the season ... She finishes her career with 1,230 points, 11th in SU history ... Hall's seven points gave her 1,108 for her career, 18th all-time ... Seniors Alexander, Tyson-Thomas and Hall finish their careers with 4,362 combined points ... Sykes' 12 rebounds gave her double-figure boards for the third time this season and beat her previous career-high of 11 set at Notre Dame (2/26) … Sykes 12 boards also tied a Syracuse NCAA Tournament record with Chandrea Jones (2008 vs. Hartford).
Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery
VIDEO: Recap | Press Conference Video
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – One of the most successful seasons in program history came to a close for No. 7-seeded Syracuse women's basketball on Saturday, losing to No. 10 Creighton, 61-56, at Thompson-Boiling Arena in the NCAA Tournament first round. In her final game in Orange, senior Kayla Alexander led SU with 23 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Brittney Sykes led the Orange on the boards, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds while scoring five points.
The Orange concludes the 2012-13 season with a 24-8 record, the program's best winning percentage (.750) in the NCAA era and second-best overall (26-8, .765 in 1980-81). Its 24 wins is the fourth-most in program history.
Seventeen of Alexander's points came in the second half and the senior went 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Fellow seniors Carmen Tyson-Thomas and Elashier Hall scored 13 and seven points, respectively. Junior Rachel Coffey dished out six assists.
The Bluejays were 11-for-36 from behind the arc and were led Mckenzie Fujan's 24 points. Coming into the first round game, Creighton was second in the country in 3-point field goals per game (9.3) and was 12th in the nation in shooting percentage behind the arc (.361).
The Orange outscored the Bluejays 28-18 in the paint and scored 23 points off of its 19 turnovers.
After a tie score, 24-24, at halftime, the Bluejays used a 7-0 run out of the locker room to take a 33-26 lead. Alexander answered with seven-straight points of her own and tied up the contest, 33-33.
Creighton took back the lead following a 6-0 run at 13:17 thanks to back-to-back layups from Nelson.
The Orange climbed within two points of the Bluejays' 39-37 lead before an 8-0 run by Creighton had them at its largest lead of the game, 47-37, with 8:39 remaining.
Alexander's five straight points followed by a 3-point basket by Tyson-Thomas at 4:07 cut the deficit to five points, 55-50. Alexander added another layup and SU was only down by three, 55-52, with 2:27 on the clock.
With just 57.4 seconds remaining, Hall hit her two free throws to keep SU within three points, 57-54. On the Bluejays' next possession, the Orange forced a turnover which turned into a layup by Tyson-Thomas. The Orange trailed by one point, 57-56, with one second left.
After SU was forced to foul, two Bluejays made both of their free throw shots, and the Orange were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, 61-56.
SU opened up the game with an early, 4-2, lead following four-straight free throws. A 3-pointer by Coffey broke open the Orange's lead to 7-2 at 15:05.
Brianna Butler's shot from behind the arc was good at 12:52 and the Orange led, 10-5. Creighton put together a 6-0 run at 9:04 to climb within three points, 14-11 but a bucket by Alexander kept SU in the lead, 16-11.
Creighton took the lead for the first time in the game at 2:32, 21-20, following Fujan's fifth 3-point basket of the half. The Orange responded with four straight points, but Creighton's Sarah Nelson completed a 3-point play to tie up the game 24-24, heading into halftime.
With the victory, Creighton advances to the second round and will face the winner of No. 2 Tennessee (24-7) and No. 15 Oral Roberts (18-12) on Monday.
NOTES: Syracuse is now 0-5 in NCAA Tournament games ... Alexander's 23 points set a Syracuse NCAA Tournament record, breaking the mark of 17 held by Tonya Hendrix (1988 vs. Ohio State), Sue Ludwig (1998 vs. Ohio State) and Erica Morrow (2008 vs. Hartford) … Alexander scored 20 or more points for the 13th time this season and led the Orange in scoring for the 19th time in 32 games … Alexander finishes her career with 2,024 points, the most in SU history ... Tyson-Thomas' 13-point effort was her 18th double-figure game of the season ... She finishes her career with 1,230 points, 11th in SU history ... Hall's seven points gave her 1,108 for her career, 18th all-time ... Seniors Alexander, Tyson-Thomas and Hall finish their careers with 4,362 combined points ... Sykes' 12 rebounds gave her double-figure boards for the third time this season and beat her previous career-high of 11 set at Notre Dame (2/26) … Sykes 12 boards also tied a Syracuse NCAA Tournament record with Chandrea Jones (2008 vs. Hartford).
Team Stats
CU
SU
FG%
.364
.310
3FG%
.306
.158
FT%
.909
.773
RB
43
35
TO
19
12
STL
4
12
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
0
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Tuesday, October 13
Tuesday, October 13
Monday, October 12
Wednesday, October 07
