Syracuse Comeback Falls Short Against Miami

Thursday, February 12

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

17-8, 7-5

Miami

17-7, 7-4

Miami

Syracuse

2/12/2015 9:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Orange loses, 85-71, to Hurricanes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The No. 23/22 Syracuse women's basketball team's comeback bid fell short to ACC opponent Miami, losing 85-71 to the Hurricanes on Thursday night in its Play 4Kay game at the Carrier Dome.

"My kids played hard and I thought that they really tried to compete tonight but something was just missing," head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "We just didn't have that spark, but we'll be okay and get it back. We've got games left and at least we're not having the press conference now and talking about next year. We've got a lot of basketball left and we are going to get better, improve, and come out and get a W on the road on Sunday."

The Orange moved to 17-8 on the season and 6-5 in conference play with the loss. The Hurricanes led for all but 37 seconds of the game and shot 49-percent from the field on the night, their second-highest field goal percentage of the season.

Sophomore guard Alexis Peterson led the Orange with 21 points, with junior guard Brianna Butler adding 19 to the scoreboard. Sophomore center Briana Day led the team in rebounding, pulling down nine boards on the night.

With a turnover-laden opening in the first minutes of the game, Peterson kick-started the half for the Orange with a back-to-back field goal and 3-point play. The Hurricanes came out strong on offense, leading the Orange 12-8 in the first five minutes of the game. Miami proceeded to go on a mini-run, registering 10 points in a span of two minutes to take a 23-14 lead at the 9:25 mark.

The Orange soon answered to shrink the deficit with a 3-point field goal from Butler and a layup from Peterson, tightening the gap, 23-21. Miami, however, continued to stay hot on offense and led Syracuse the rest of the half, pulling away 35-25 heading into halftime.

Butler led the team with 10 points in the first half, marking her 17th game of the season with at least 10 points.

Syracuse kicked off the second half with a 3-point field goal from Butler and free throws from Briana Day, but Miami kept the lead and continued to surge on offense, creating a 44-32 lead four minutes into the second half. Senior guard Maggie Morrison registered her first points of the game, firing a 3-point shot at 14:31 to cut the Miami lead to nine.

Miami's outside shooting game made a huge appearance in the second half, going 4-8 from beyond the 3-point line, as the Hurricanes distanced themselves from the Orange with a 57-41 lead at the 11-minute mark.

Peterson kept the Orange in the game in the last 10 minutes of the game, leading the team with 14 points in the second half.

A pair of free throws from Diamond Henderson brought the Orange within 10 at the 4:48 mark, and a subsequent 3-point play from Henderson cut the score 66-57.

Henderson hit yet another three to bring the Orange within 10 at the 1:33 mark, 75-65. Despite the offensive effort late in the game from the Orange, Miami continuously answered on offense and maintained a steady lead throughout to win 85-71.

Prior to the game, Butler was recognized for reaching 1,000 career points, as she became the 24th player in Syracuse history to reach the milestone. She scored her 1,000th point Sunday against Georgia Tech.

The Orange is on the road this Sunday when they take on Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. in Blacksburg, Va.