SU Women Win Big over Niagara

Story by Jake Lapin
Photo by Jacqueline Mundry

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse women's hoops extended its winning streak to four games as the Orange defeated Niagara in wire-to-wire fashion 109-60.

"We wanted to get up and down the court, play fast and try to get into our pressure, and our players did a good job of that," Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman said.

The victory over the Purple Eagles was the last non-conference game for Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, as ACC play begins in a couple of weeks.


Brittney "Westbrook" Sykes

The stat sheet was quite full for Brittney Sykes this afternoon. The redshirt senior finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists, just a couple of dimes away from a triple double.

Sykes led Syracuse in all three of those categories, the first time that has been done since 2012.

"I'm just trying to, you know, be Westbrook right now," Sykes said after the game about Russell Westbrook and his NBA-leading 12 triple-doubles. "Yeah he scores, yeah he rebounds, but he pads every stat and that's what I want to be for my team. Not necessarily Westbrook himself, but just that one teammate that can do everything for my team."

"Anytime you get that close to a triple double, you just got to be happy for her," Hillsman said.


Elmore Shines

Sykes stole the show, but Desiree Elmore had the best game in her young Orange career. The freshman forward tallied a career-high 15 points along with three rebounds in the win.

Perhaps the loudest ovation of the night was an Elmore offensive rebound and put-back, plus the foul, which brought the Syracuse bench to its feet.

"I think I played well," Elmore said. "This is what coach expects of me."

"We need her minutes," Hillsman said on Elmore contributing as conference play awaits. "She can play both the 4 or 5 for us."


Strong Second Half for Niagara

After a rough go in the early stages of the game, the Purple Eagles found themselves down 43 at halftime.

However, Niagara beat its first half total in the third quarter alone, and three players finished the game in double figures.

"It was tough to see the first half of this game," Niagara coach Jada Pierce said. " I do love the fact that my team was confident in the second half. We showed a lot of grit, a lot of heart."

Tiffany Corselli led the way with 12 points, five assists and four rebounds, including a couple of three-pointers.


Notes

Thanks in part to the full-court press, Syracuse outshot Niagara 80 to 54 for the game. The Purple Eagles coughed the ball up 27 times, which led to ten fast break points. SU also outscored Niagara in second chance points by a 26-11 margin.

SU put this one away early, sparked by a 23-0 run in the first quarter to build the lead to 28-4. The Orange has now won back-to-back-to-back games by at least 30 points.


Looking Ahead

The Orange will head down to Florida for the Florida Sunshine Classic, where it will take on Old Dominion on Tuesday, Dec. 20 and Texas A&M on Wednesday, Dec. 21.

ACC play begins Thursday, Dec. 29 when SU travels to Kentucky to face Louisville.

Niagara will be in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Dec. 13 to face Drexel, who beat Syracuse earlier this season.