Orange Drops ACC Opener to Notre Dame

 

Story and Photo By: Jonathan Kahn 

Syracuse, N.Y. --The biggest loss for the No.21 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team Sunday at the Carrier Dome might very well not have been the game. SU fell 85-74 to No. 4 Notre Dame but, perhaps worse, junior guard Brittney Sykes may have seriously re-injured her knee for a second time in less than a year.

Orange faithful held a collective breath with just over six minutes left in the first half as Sykes was hunched over the Notre Dame basket support holding her right knee which was surgically repaired last year. After trainers looked at it, she was able to walk to the locker room on her own with a slight limp and her face in her jersey, holding back tears.  Coach Quentin Hillsman said after the game she was being evaluated but didn’t know her status.

“I guess we’ll find out,” Hillsman said. “She’s in good spirits and that's half the battle.”

 

For junior guard Brianna Butler it brought back memories of last season.

“It was shocking,” Butler said. “To have it happened in a similar matter was hard for me.”

Sykes returned to the bench for the second half to watch and cheer on her teammates. It was just a week after she had played her first game back the surgery and rehab.

Close first half

 

Syracuse (10-4, 0-1 ACC) matched intensity with Notre Dame in the first half, going basket-for-basket with the Irish (14-1, 2-0). The catalyst for the Syracuse offense in the first half was Brianna Butler who connected from beyond the arc with just under a minute and a half in the first to give the Orange a 41-37 lead.

Butler, who finished with 19 points, said a performance like this gives her a lot of confidence.

“I haven’t been playing that well,” Butler said. “It’s big for me, I was open because my teammates were able to get me there.”

Second half: Sykes hurt, Day in foul trouble

Notre Dame, who had closed on a 5-0 run to lead at halftime 42-41, came out firing in the second half, causing another quick timeout by Hillsman but this time his Orange players weren’t able to rally back as they had in the first half.  

Sophomore center Briana Day was forced to spend a lot of the second half on the bench after picking up her fourth personal foul with just under 17 minutes left.

“It was very frustrating,” Day said. “I had to keep my head and cheer for my teammates because they were going to compete regardless."

For the fourth time this season the Orange fell to a ranked opponent and while SU wasn’t blown out in any of them Hillsman said moral victories don't cut it anymore.  

“I thought our kids played well but we need to start winning these Top 10 games,” Hillsman said. “Everyone is going to remember how well we played for another two minutes. And then tomorrow all they will know is that we lost.”

Blue Devils next

Next up for the Orange is a Jan.8 ACC matchup with the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium.