‘Cuse Comeback: Orange Upsets #6 UNC

Thursday, January 30

Chapel Hill, N.C.

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

16-5, 5-3ACC

North Carolina

17-4, 5-2ACC

Syracuse

North Carolina

1/30/2014 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score | Season Stats

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Brianna Butler scored 17 of her game-high 22 points in the second half as Syracuse (16-5, 5-3 ACC) came back from an 18-point deficit to upset No. 6 North Carolina (17-4, 5-2 ACC), 78-73, on Thursday night at Carmichael Arena. The victory marks the highest ranked team the Orange has ever beaten on the road, and is tied for the second-highest ranked team it has defeated overall.

After UNC matched its largest lead of the game of 18 points, 50-32, with 18:40 left, the Orange took over, outscoring the home team 46-23 over the duration of the game behind 47.1 percent second-half shooting, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, while holding the Tar Heels to 31.2 percent shooting in the second stanza, including 1-of-9 from behind the arc.

Butler finished 8-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, and added four steals at the defensive end. Brittney Sykes added 17 points, while Briana Day had 11 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Her twin sister, Bria Day, added eight points and three boards as the freshmen from nearby Raleigh provided strong minutes off the bench.

The only higher ranked team Syracuse has ever defeated were No. 2 Connecticut, 62-59, on Jan. 2, 1996 at Manley Field House. It matches the Orange's 75-66 win over No. 6 Ohio State on Dec. 11, 2010 at the Carrier Dome as the highest ranked team beaten in head coach Quentin Hillsman's tenure.

"I thought the key to this game was in the second half we got back," Hillsman said. "We got our defense set. We were having major problems just getting back off the made baskets and getting back and getting our defense set. Obviously, those misses were a little bit easier, but you have to pull back on defense, too."

The Orange forced 29 UNC turnovers, 18 of which came in the second half, and converted them into 21 points.

Rachel Coffey's 3-pointer with 18:01 remaining began the Orange's comeback. It went on to outscore the Tar Heels, 24-10, between then and the 9:03 mark to pull within four on a Taylor Ford basket, 60-56. The deficit stayed between one and five until Ford's 3-pointer with 4:48 left tied the game, 65-65.

SU took its first lead since the game's opening minutes when Butler sank both free throws following a technical foul on UNC's Stephanie Mavunga with 3:11 to go, making it 69-67.

Butler continued to hit clutch shots down the stretch. Her 3-pointer at the 2:42 mark broke another tie and her jumper with 1:29 left gave SU a five-point lead, 76-71.

Shakeya Leary sank two free throws with 28 seconds reaming to make it 78-71 and ice the game for the Orange.

Diamond DeShields led the Tar Heels with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Allisha Gray and Mavunga added 16 each.

Butler and Sykes started the game hot for the Orange, combining to score all the team's points as it took an early 9-4 lead, but North Carolina went on a 23-4 run over 9:18 to take a 27-13 with 8:08 left in the half. The Orange, after starting 4-of-6 shooting, made just two of its next 16 attempts.

After a pair of McDaniel free throws gave UNC its largest lead of the half, 40-22, Bria Day scored six points in a row for the Orange as it outscored the Tar Heels, 9-6, over the final four minutes to go into halftime down by 14, 46-32.

Sykes led all first-half scorers with 12 points, while Gray and DeShields had 11 each for the Tar Heels.

Syracuse returns home to host No. 8/9 Maryland on Sunday in a noon tip-off. It will be National Girls & Women in Sport Day, as well as Girl Scouts Day at the Carrier Dome. The game will be televised on the ACC Regional Sports Network. Locally, it will air on MSG Plus (Time Warner Cable channels 69 & 319).