A game that started with such promise for the Syracuse Women's Basketball team ended in a rout Thursday night, as the visiting #3 Duke Blue Devils beat the Orange 86-53. The loss drops Syracuse to 11-4 overall and 0-2 on the early ACC season.
"[Duke plays] really well," said Syracuse Coach Quentin Hillsman in a post game press conference. "They did a phenomenal job tonight of being who they are, an elite program, and the number three team in the country."
The Orange started out scorching from beyond the arc, connecting on five of its first seven from three point range, and raced out to a 19-12 lead with 14:22 left in the first half.
"Duke was playing a zone defense, so it left a lot of opportunities for us to shoot threes," said Sophomore guard Brianna Butler. Butler led the Orange with 14 points for the game.
But Duke is a good team, and good teams find ways to get back in the game. That's exactly what the Blue Devils did, using a heavy dose of Senior guard Tricia Liston. Liston had 14 points in the first half.
"Once we started working the ball around...we had assist after assist, and easy shots and easy baskets," Liston said.
Even with Liston's success, Syracuse stayed in striking distance throughout the first half, trading baskets with the Blue Devils as time went on. The Orange was right in the game at halftime, trailing only 43-34.
"[In the second half] I thought we corrected the problem...that was taking the threes away from (Liston)," Hillsman said. "After that...they started to get things right down the middle of the floor, and that's about transition defense."
That transition defense really cost the Orange. A nine point lead quickly grew and before you even realized it, Duke was up by 20. The reason? Elizabeth Williams. The Duke Junior finished the game with a stat line of 14 points and 11 rebounds. She also had four assists, and four blocked shots, bringing her streak to 85 consecutive games with a blocked shot.
"Against any team, I think we try to get the ball inside out," Williams said. "Working the ball around getting it in the paint is important to us."
Williams was a force on the glass all night. Syracuse came into the game with a +6.6 rebounding margin, but lost the battle on the boards, which led to losing the game.
Turning the page
Syracuse doesn't have a lot of time to dwell on this one. The Orange hosts Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon, still looking for its first ACC win.
"We're going to find out Sunday...right where we are," Hillsman said. "We're either going to know that we're tough, or we're gonna know we're not. That's the beauty of this thing right now."
Sunday's contest tips off at 1:00 P.M. at the Carrier Dome.
Video Report
Quentin Hillsman Post Game Press Conference
Shakeya Leary, Brittney Sykes, Brianna Butler Press Conference
Stats of the night
-Syracuse came in with a +6.6 rebound differential on the season. The Orange was out rebounded by Duke 46-38
-Duke had 27 assists to only 11 for Syracuse
-The double-double for Elizabeth Williams was her third consecutive
-The Orange's 53 point output was its lowest of the season
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