Photos by Danielle Kennedy
Syracuse, N.Y- A tremendous second half Sunday afternoon at the Carrier Dome enabled the Syracuse women’s basketball team to beat North Carolina State the first time in their five meetings.
The No. 23/22 Orange (15-5,5-2 ACC) used a 23-0 run early in the second half to seal the win over the Wolfpack (12-8, 3-4). Syracuse
outscored NC State, 40-20, in the second half to win 66-49.
"I changed the pace and I changed the defense,” SU head
coach Quentin Hillsman said. “It really bothered them.”
Sophomore guard Alexis Peterson sparked the Orange with a
game-leading 21 points and four assists. This is her 13th
consecutive game with double figures since last Dec. 4 against Penn State. Sophomore
center Briana Day added 11 points and 16 rebounds, posting her 10th double-double
in the season. She also had seven blocked shots, which tied her career-best
record. Junior guard Brianna Butler contributed 15 points. She shot 4-of-7 in
the second half from behind the arc after shooting 1-of-6 from three-point
range in the first half.
That strong second half followed a seesaw first one where
the score was tied four times and the lead changed six. After Syracuse took the
lead at the 16:45 mark in the second half, it never gave up the lead again.
"It's good to be able to protect our home court," Hillsman
said. "I thought that was one of the most important things for us. "In this game it was coming out and protecting home court in conference because we know how hard it is to win on the road. It's the best conference in the country and when you go to other peoples' courts, it's really tough. No matter how good you play, it is going to be tough on the road."
Tremendous afternoon
for Peterson and Day
Peterson scored seven consecutive points for the Orange to
give Syracuse a 7-6 lead after NC State knocked down a pair of three-point
attempts to start the game. She had 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the first half.
Day had six of her seven blocked shots in that period.
During that 23-2 run, Peterson contributed seven points and dished
out three assists. Day had five points, including an and-one play. She made a
left-hand layup, drew the foul, and made the free throw.
“I think we have just picked up our energy, our intensity,”
Peterson said. “We started to get stops and make some baskets. We just turned this
over and got excited. That motivated us and we wanted to keep the energy high. We
put more pressure on defense and it worked out for us pretty well.”
Peterson showed aggressiveness attacking the rim. She made 12 of 15 free throws. Perhaps the only blemish was that
she only went 1-of-7 from behind the arc.
“I struggled today from the three point line,” Peterson said. “I
am not going to lie, but I took every shot with confidence. Like coach said we
can't get gun-shy. I know in the next game I will be able to knock them down.”
Up next
The Orange will try to extend its winning streak to six on the road against
Louisville. The game will begin at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Jan. 29.
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