Butler Shoots 'Cuse Past Georgia Tech

Sunday, January 12

Syracuse, N.Y.

1 p.m.

Syracuse University

12-4, 1-2

Georgia Tech

11-5, 1-2

Team	1	2	F
Georgia Tech	34	36	70
Syracuse	32	44	76

1/12/2014 4:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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SYRACUSE, N.Y.— Brianna Butler tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead Syracuse women's basketball (12-4, 1-2 ACC) to a comeback 76-70 win over Georgia Tech (11-5, 1-2 ACC) and earn its first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference win on Sunday afternoon in the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse outscored Georgia Tech, 21-7 over the final 6:29 in a game that saw 12 lead changes and six ties in a back-and-forth contest. Georgia Tech led for the majority of the game, holding its advantage for 29 minutes and 35 seconds, but the Orange capitalized on the final six minutes to get past the Yellow Jackets.

"During the second half, we had a point where we started getting back on defense and got our feet set in the zone and got five or six stops in a row," head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "That was the big difference in the zone. We guarded the ball well and played solid."

Brittany Sykes scored 10 points to close the second half, helping the Orange comeback from an eight-point deficit with 7:21 to play. Sykes finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Shakeya Leary rounded out SU double-digit scorers with 10 points and had eight rebounds.

"I have to give a lot of credit to Alexis Peterson today," Hillsman said. "She came into the game in the second half and really calmed us down. She got some things straight and had some nice drives to the basket. After that, when she started to shake the defense, Brianna Butler was open on the wing."

The freshman point guard finished the day with seven points and three rebounds, all in the second half to aid SU's efforts against Tech.

SU shot 43.5 percent from the field including a 51.9 percent (14-27) showing in the second half. Behind the arc, SU shot 38.1 percent led by Butler's 7-of-13 performance. Tech shot 44.1 percent overall and 44.4 percent from long range.

The Orange dominated in transition, outscoring the Jackets, 30-7. Syracuse edged Georgia Tech in the paint, tallying 32 points to the Jackets' 30.

The game started off with the lead going back-and-forth throughout the first 9:24 until Georgia Tech went on a 16-8 run over the next 7:27 to pull away from the Orange and take a 31-22 lead, its largest of the day.

Syracuse used the final 2:10 of the half to make up for the deficit, going on a 10-3 spurt and cutting the Yellow Jacket lead to two going into the locker room. Brianna Butler hit two 3-pointers during the run including one with four seconds remaining in the half to help SU's comeback.

Isabella Slim scored one from long range to give Syracuse its first advantage in nearly 12 minutes but the Jackets regained the lead and held on to it for the next 13 minutes, leading by as much as eight. Syracuse fought back in the final six and a half minutes, going on a 21-7 run to close the game.

The Orange is back in action on Thursday, Jan. 16 at No. 6 Maryland. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. and the game will be aired on RSN.