The Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion is now over. SU women’s basketball team won two games and lost one.
Game 1: Syracuse vs. Xavier
In the first game, on Sunday, the Orange beat the Musketeers 70-67. SU’s junior center, Kayla Alexander [14] scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds. It was Alexander’s fourth double-double of the season. Junior guard, Carmen Tyson-Thomas [15] also registered a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds).
In the second half, Xavier’s Jessica Pachko landed two free throws with about fifty-six seconds left to pull the Musketeers within two, 67-65. SU’s senior forward Iasia Hemingway [16] responded with two free throws of her own with just thirty seconds left to put the Orange back up by four. Soon after Xavier’s Lynette Holmes drained in a runner with five seconds left to make it a one-possession game.
The Musketeers quickly fouled junior guard Elashier Hall [17]. She hit one of two free throws with three seconds left to put the Orange up by three points. Xavier had one last chance to score but Tyson-Thomas deflected Xavier’s inbound pass which gave the Orange the ball and the victory.
Game 2: Syracuse vs. Oklahoma
On Monday, the Sooners handed the Orange a 82-63 loss. Hall led Syracuse with 19 points. Eleven of her points came from thirteen free throw attempts. She was the only SU player to reach double figures. But, Syracuse’s offense wasn’t enough to stop the Sooners. Syracuse shot under 28 percent from the field and was 4-of-23 from behind the arc.
After trailing 46-34 at halftime, Oklahoma opened the second half with a 14-5 run and proved to be too much for Syracuse. Oklahoma went on to push its lead from 12 to 21 making the score 60-39. The Sooners furthered the gap to 27 points late in the game before the Orange was able to cut it within 20 in the final few minutes.
Oklahoma’s Morgan Hook led all of the scorers with 21 points. Hook had six rebounds and five assists.
Game 3: Syracuse vs. Ohio
On Tuesday, the Orange defeated the Bobcats 81-70. Hemingway scored a game-high of 24 points. She finished with 10 rebounds, good for her second double-double of the season. Tyson-Thomas also added 22 points to help seal the win.
Syracuse shot a season-high 50.8 percent from the field. The Orange finished the game with 17 assists, six of which came from sophomore guard, Rachel Coffey.
Ohio came back in the second half, cutting the Orange’s lead down to 64-62 with a little over seven minutes remaining. The Orange came right back with Tyson-Thomas who landed back-to-back jumpers.
Hemingway later added seven points that were part of an 11-2 run late in the game. The run gave Syracuse an 11-point lead with just three minutes left to go in the game.
Syracuse (9-4) will be back in the Carrier Dome after a nine day break on Dec. 29 to take on Niagara (3-8) at 7 p.m.
