Orange Top #5 Cardinals, Hillsman Earns 300th Win

Sunday, February 9

Syracuse, N.Y.

2 PM

Syracuse University

12-11,6-6ACC

Louisville

21-3,10-2ACC

Louisville

Syracuse

Orange Top #5 Cardinals, Hillsman Earns 300th Win

2/9/2020 4:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Coach Hillsman Post Game Highlights Players Postgame Photo Gallery

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse earned head coach Quentin Hillsman's 300th win with a convincing 59-51 victory over No. 5 Louisville Sunday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. It was the lowest point total the Cards have had all season and tied the Syracuse record for the largest margin of victory against a top-five opponent in program history (80-72, South Carolina March 25, 2016). Sunday's victory also marked just the second time the Orange have topped a top-five opponent at home dating back to Jan. 2, 1996 when 'Cuse defeated No. 2 UConn 62-59.

What a win for @CuseWBB 🎉 pic.twitter.com/tZCctwkcAE
— Syracuse Athletics (@Cuse) February 9, 2020

"It was a great game and a great win," Hillsman said. "No win is more important than any other, but this is a little more important when you beat a top-five team this late in the season. You need all of your wins and this one is really big for us. Our girls just played really hard. They were really good and really aggressive. We just want our kids to compete throughout the season. When we play hard and play at a high level, it gives us a chance to win games and that's what they've done. They've given us a good chance to keep winning games and we hope that we can keep stringing these wins along and keep taking care of our business."

Congratulations to @CoachQatSU on reaching 3⃣0⃣0⃣ career wins in today's upset win against fifth-ranked Louisville 👏#ACCWBB🏀 pic.twitter.com/4ZlU9lHfYW
— ACC Women's Basketball (@accwbb) February 9, 2020

🎥 Highlight's from today's win over #5 Louisville pic.twitter.com/ecjQZ56TNT
— 'Cuse Hoops (@CuseWBB) February 9, 2020

Of Note:

Kiara Lewis had an offensive field day, scoring 24 points in 39 minutes to bring her career total to 403. She recorded back-to-back 20 point games for the second time this season and also added four steals.
Orange guard Emily Engstler recorded eight points and nine rebounds to finish just shy of her ninth double-double of the season. She flirted with a triple double too, recording six assists. Her eight points helped her surpass the 650 point mark of her career.
Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi recorded 12 points and went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe to break the 10-point barrier for the eighth time this year. She also recorded five boards in her 21 minutes of play.
Syracuse led the game for 89.7 percent of the game today, controlling the ball for just under 36 minutes.
Syracuse forced at least six turnovers in three quarters for a total of 22 on the day, just shy of the season-high 26 caused vs. Pittsburgh on January 19.
Syracuse held Wooden Award Watch List and 1,000 point club member Dana Evans to just 13 points today. Evans entered the day averaging almost 34 points a contest.
Cards head coach Jeff Walz received a technical foul two minutes into the fourth quarter for challenging an illegal screen call on Elizabeth Dixon.

How it happened:

Scoring was limited in the opening moments of the game as just eight points were recorded between both teams in the first five minutes. 'Cuse and the Cards went point-for-point from there and closed the first with Syracuse ahead 15-12. Emily Engstler put up five points in the first 10 minutes, and Amaya Finklea-Guity scored four.
The sides kept things close throughout the second quarter until 'Cuse used a 12-3 run to take a 10-point lead on fifth-ranked Louisville, Lewis contributing half of those herself. Syracuse entered halftime ahead 30-20. Lewis' 10 points paced both sides in the first half, and Engstler recorded eight points and six rebounds.
The Orange, who controlled possession for 15:52 and trailed for just 19 seconds, shot for 39.3 percent in the opening 20 and limited the Cards to 29.6 percent and just one trey.
Louisville used an 8-2 push at the start of the third to close the gap to 32-28 before a 9-4 run by the Orange put the home team ahead 41-32. Lewis contributed nine of Syracuse's 11 points in the third quarter to put her one shy of hitting the 20 point mark for the second consecutive game.
The Orange opened the fourth with four points to go up 45-32 on Louisville and used strong defense to keep their lead to at least 10 throughout the first 9:20 of the final stanza.

Spending time with the best fans in America 🧡🏀🍊

Thank you for your support today and every day, Orange Nation! pic.twitter.com/bOor5MrOJY
— 'Cuse Hoops (@CuseWBB) February 9, 2020

Up Next:
The Orange hit the road Thursday to take on North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on Regional Sports Networks (YES Network in Syracuse).

Up Next in the Dome:
The Orange return to the Carrier Dome Sunday, Feb. 16 to host Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. (RSN). It's Play4Kay Day and Team Day in the Dome where those affected by breast cancer will be recognized on the court at halftime. Fans can email athmkt02@syr.edu for more information on how to be part of the ceremony. Pink t-shirts will be available to the first 100 students, and the first 500 fans in attendance will receive pink Syracuse rally towels. 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.