#17 Syracuse defeats #7/6 Louisville, Heads to ACC Final

Saturday, March 5

Greensboro, N.C.

2:30 p.m.

Syracuse University

25-6, 13-3ACC

#7/6 Louisville

25-7, 15-1ACC

Syracuse

Louisville

#17 Syracuse defeats #7/6 Louisville, Heads to ACC Final

3/5/2016 5:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Orange in first conference final since 1988

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 17 Syracuse University women's basketball team heads to their first Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with an 80-75 victory against No. 7/6 Louisville on Saturday afternoon in the Greensboro Coliseum.

"This is a tough conference and to be sitting here, playing for an ACC title tomorrow is tremendous," head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "They just made all the right plays down the stretch and I give them all the credit. Our kids were tremendous today and they did it."

Syracuse (25-6) returns to its first conference title game since 1988 with the victory over No. 2 seed Louisville (25-7). The victory is the Orange's fourth win this season against a ranked opponent, the most in program history.

Junior guard Alexis Peterson struck first for the Orange. Her 3-pointer got the ball rolling for Syracuse who led the Cardinals, 21-14, heading into the second quarter. It took three full minutes for Louisville to answer, but the Orange had already extended their lead to 12 points. The Cardinals climbed back into it, but back-to-back-to-back triples from senior forward Taylor Ford and redshirt senior guard Maggie Morrison sent Syracuse into the locker room with a 39-33 advantage.

Louisville returned in the second half to tie it up at 51-51 with five minutes left to play in the third quarter. The two teams went back and forth, entering the final 10 minutes of play with the score even at 62-62. A monster block from junior center Bria Day sent senior guard Brianna Butler off with a jumper to give the Orange the 76-73 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the contest.

Down by one, the Cardinals were forced to foul, sending senior guard Cornelia Fondren to the line with 18 seconds on the clock. Fondren shot 7-10 from the line on the day and she hit them when it mattered most, knocking down both. Butler was sent to the line with five seconds remaining, hitting both and solidifying the Orange's 80-75 victory.

Peterson led Syracuse with 19 points while Fondren recorded a season-high 18 points, tying her career-high.

The Orange return to the Greensboro Coliseum Sunday for the ACC Championship game to face No. 2/3 Notre Dame at 12:30 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN.

For the latest news on the Syracuse women's basketball program, follow /SyracuseWBB on Facebook, @CuseWBB on Instagram, and @CuseWBB on Twitter.