Syracuse Falls To Duke

Thursday, January 23

Syracuse, N.Y.

8 pm

Syracuse University

Duke

1/23/2020 10:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - It wasn't in the stars for Syracuse as the Orange (9-9, 3-4 ACC) lost 88-58 to Duke (10-9, 4-4 ACC) Thursday night in the Carrier Dome. 'Cuse scoring leaders were Kiara Lewis (14 points, 5 assists) and Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi (12 points). Duke was led by Leaonna Odom (23 points, 10 rebounds) who recorded her third double-double of the year. Syracuse returns to the court Sunday to play Wake Forest at 4 p.m. in Winston-Salem, N.C. (ACCNX).

"The good thing about life is you have to make some decisions, and we as a team have to make some decisions," head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "We have to get out there and compete at a high level to not have nights like this. At the end of the day, it's tough when your game is predicated on trying to create turnovers and pressure. We did give into our pressure, but I give Duke a lot of credit. They did a really good job of attacking our pressure before we got it set up. We played unsettled defense for pretty much the entire game, and they came out and played really well, so I give them a lot of credit. We didn't play very well, and at the end of the day, I have to find a way to get us to play more consistently."

Of Note:

Gabrielle Cooper was honored in a pregame ball ceremony for scoring her 1,000th point against Georgia Tech on Jan. 16.
Cooper started the game one point shy of passing Chandrea Jones (2007-09, 1,010 points) for 27th place on the Syracuse all-time scoring list. Cooper finished the game with 11 points.
Elemy Colomé drained her first three of the season in the fourth quarter.
The loss marks the first time 'Cuse has lost back-to-back home contests since February 2018 (73-64 vs. Virginia Tech, 84-77 vs. Louisville).
Syracuse entered the day having won its previous two contests against Duke. The loss marks Syracuse's first to the Blue Devils since March 3, 2017 when No. 13/11 Duke won, 68-46, in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
Duke's Mikayla Boykin scored a career-high 15 points in the victory, surpassing the 14 she scored against Virginia Tech on Jan. 12.

Congratulations on 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣, @CallMe_GiGi 🤩 pic.twitter.com/pWqTo4ZL2m
— 'Cuse Hoops (@CuseWBB) January 24, 2020

How it Happened:

Defense was the tale of the tape in the first quarter, with five steals and two blocks recorded in the opening frame. Both teams came out with energy too, with a high tempo set from the opening tip.
Kiara Lewis opened with a drive in the paint, but Duke used an 8-0 run to go up 8-2 before 'Cuse fought back to a three-point deficit. An 11-4 push by the Blue Devils improved their lead to 21-11 by the end of the first quarter.
The Orange started clicking in the second but Duke didn't let up and kept a healthy 10-point advantage throughout most of the second stanza. A final 16-3 run in the final three minutes put Duke ahead 49-28 at halftime. Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi led the Orange in scoring, putting up eight points, while Mikayla Boykin and Leaonna Odom paced Duke with 15 and 12, respectively.
The Orange and Blue Devils went point-for point through the first half of the third, Duke outshooting Syracuse 12-9 over the first five minutes. The Blue Devils used a final 10-5 push to carry a 71-48 lead into the fourth.
Duke continued to control the game and added 17 more points in the fourth quarter to close out the contest and get back in the win column.

Up Next
Syracuse hits the road to take on Wake Forest Sunday at 4 p.m. Fans can watch the action on ACC Network Extra.

Up Next in the Dome:
The Orange return to the Carrier Dome Jan. 30 to host Virginia Tech at 8 p.m. (ACC Network). Tickets for the game start at $10 for adults and $5 for youth under 12.

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