Orange Drop Sunshine Classic Finale to #22 West Virginia, 71-69

Sunday, December 22

Winter Park, Fla.

1:30 pm

Syracuse University

6-5,0-0ACC

West Virginia

9-1,0-0Big 12

West Virginia

Syracuse

Orange Drop Sunshine Classic Finale to #22 West Virginia, 71-69

12/22/2019 3:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WINTER PARK, Fla. - A Sunday thriller in Winter Park, Fla. ended with No. 22 West Virginia edging out Syracuse, 71-69, in the Florida Sunshine Classic finale. Redshirt junior Kiara Lewis recorded a career-best 32 points, surpassing her 22-point high against Oregon earlier this season (Nov. 24). Lewis and Amaya Finklea-Guity both earned spots on the All-Tournament team for their weekend performances. Lewis recorded 50 points, 11 assists and 11 boards, while Finklea-Guity had 14 points, 12 boards, six blocks and two steals.

"This was a very tough physical basketball game," head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "I thought our kids did a really good job at fighting back from down 20 to coming back and having a chance to win the game. At the end of the day we just have to be smart and close out games down the stretch."

Of Note:

Lewis's 32 points are the most by an Orange player since Tiana Mangakahia dropped 34 against North Carolina on Jan. 13, 2019. Lewis also set a new mark in made free throws, sinking nine.
Syracuse overcame a 20-point deficit in the second to open the fourth down just one point, 52-51.
The Mountaineers improved to 15-9 in the all-time series, winning the first meeting between the two programs since March 2012.

How it happened:

'Cuse and WVU went point-for-point from the start, but a 12-0 run in the second half of the first quarter helped the Mountaineers take an early 20-7 lead.
WVU opened the second quarter with five more points before Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi and Kiara Lewis both added two to break up the run. The Orange used a 9-0 run to bring the score to 30-21 with three minutes until halftime, Lewis scoring seven of those points.
'Cuse and WVU both added four more before the half, the team's leaving the court with WVU leading 37-25.
Lewis paced the game with 17 points in the first half, including going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. She also had four boards, two assists and a steal in the opening 20 minutes.
The Orange came out of halftime rejuvenated and ready for a fight. 'Cuse used a 14-6 run to come within six, 45-39, of the Mountaineers. Lewis hit her new career mark with a layup in the final two minutes of the third quarter. A 9-4 push by Djaldi-Tabdi and Lewis brought the game to 52-49 before Gabrielle Cooper tossed in a layup to make it a one point game with 20 seconds to go in the third.
Both sides went point-for-point in the fourth, neither program taking more than a four-point lead in the final stanza and the game coming down to the final seconds. Lewis put Syracuse up 69-68 with 44 seconds to go, but a trio of free throws in WVU's favor closed out the day.

Up Next:
Syracuse takes on No. 6 Louisville at 2 p.m. Sunday Dec. 29 in Louisville, Ky. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN2.

Up Next in the Dome:
Syracuse returns home on Jan. 2 for to host #8 Florida State for School Night in the Carrier Dome. Tip off on the ACC Network is scheduled for 8 p.m. Tickets for the game start at $10 for adults and $5 for youth under 12.

Syracuse season tickets start at $75 and are available for sale by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) or at The Box Office at the Ensley Athletic Center, which will operate extended hours on Mondays, from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, and will be open Tuesday through Friday, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, for purchasing tickets to all Dome events. Limited Premium Courtside seats are still available and can be purchased by contacting a sales representative at 1-888-DOME-TIX.

To stay updated on the Syracuse Orange women's basketball team, follow @CuseWBB on Twitter and Instagram.