Syracuse Loses to South Carolina, 97-68

Sunday, March 22

Columbia, SC

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

22-10

#3/4 South Carolina

32-2

Syracuse

3/22/2015 10:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Syracuse ends season with a 22-10 overall record

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The eighth-seeded Syracuse University women's basketball team lost at No. 1 seed South Carolina, 97-68, in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament on Sunday night at Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina built a 28-point halftime lead and Syracuse could not overcome the first-half blitz in its second-ever NCAA Tournament second round game.

"We played hard the entire game," head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "That's how we do it at Syracuse, we compete the whole game. I thought our kids gave it everything they had. I give them a lot of credit, they gave it everything they had."

Syracuse (22-10) in its second contest against South Carolina (32-2) this season never gave up. Despite a large deficit at halftime, the Orange came back with a 43-point effort in the latter 20 minutes. Syracuse shot 43 percent from the field in the second half, knocking down 12-of-28 of its shot attempts.

Sophomore guard Alexis Peterson continued her impressive showing in postseason play, leading the team with 23 points. It marked her third straight game with at least 20 points and her seventh of the 2014-15 campaign. Junior guard Cornelia Fondren tallied 16 points, her fourth consecutive contest with at least 13 points.

It was all Peterson early on for the Orange in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The sophomore guard scored the first seven points for Syracuse. Behind her efforts, Syracuse trailed early, 11-7, with 15:39 remaining in the half.

South Carolina took control from that point. The Gamecocks outscored the visiting Orange, 42-18, in the final 15:39 of the first frame. During that time, South Carolina went on a 10-0 run and later ran off eight straight points. When all was said and done, Syracuse faced its largest halftime deficit of the year, trailing, 53-25.

Peterson, Fondren, and junior guard Brianna Butler paced the Orange in the opening 20 minutes. Peterson led all scorers with 11 points, her 26th game of the 2014-15 season with at least 10 points. Butler recorded eight points on two 3-point field goals and Fondren had six points.

The second half was a different story for Syracuse, but it would not be enough to overcome the top seed in the Greensboro Region. The Orange would end up tallying 43 points in the second half, one less than its opposition.

Despite the loss, the future looks bright for the Orange. Syracuse advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, a program-first. In addition, all but two players return to the court in 2015-16.