Huskies drop Orange in Big East matchup

It was a tale of two halves for the Syracuse women’s basketball team on Wednesday night in front of a record home crowd of 4,357 people at the Carrier Dome. The Orange 13-8 (2-5) trailed No. 3 UConn (18-2, 7-1) by only seven at half time, but things took a turn for the worse in the second half, as the Huskies would run away with the game on their way to a 95-44 victory.

The first half started off well for SU as they capitalized on the Huskies turnovers and weak interior defense by getting easy buckets. Syracuse senior Iasia Hemingway led the charge by scoring early and often, on her way to a team-high 15 points in the game. The strong play of SU was headlined by their tough and aggressive half-court defense. The Huskies seemed confused, which lead to their slow start on offense.

The Orange got out to a 14-8 lead after junior guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas nailed a 3-pointer with 15 minutes remaining in the opening period. Thomas would end up scoring 11 points with 5 rebounds. The Huskies would soon respond by hitting a three of their own, cutting the SU lead to three. The Huskies started to get better ball movement towards the middle of the first half and would eventually tie the game at 24.

Undisciplined defense and unnecessary fouls by SU gave the Huskies a 30-24 lead with four minutes remaining in the first half. SU seemed destined to finish the half weakly but they ended up picking it up offensively by keeping the deficit in single digits.

The second half was another story. The Huskies shot 8 for 13 beyond the arc, one of the many reasons why they were able to expand the lead. The Huskies were also able to force 17 turnovers, scoring 24 points off of them in the process. Tiffany Hayes led the Huskies and finished her night with six 3-pointers and a career-high 35 points.

SU now has five Big East losses on the year and will hope to rebound with a home game on Saturday versus Cincinnati in the Carrier Dome.