gsdiglio's Blog

Three thoughts on SU's victory over Georgetown

By Joe Diglio
February 13, 2013 - 12:36 am
The No. 23/21 Syracuse women (20-3, 8-2) won 69-60 at Georgetown (13-11, 4-7) Tuesday night in the final Big East meeting of the two rivals. Here are some thoughts about the game.

Syracuse wins ugly

They didn’t make it look pretty, but the Orange got the job done. Syracuse shot 29% from the field, hitting just 18 field goals, although half of those were three pointers. Brianna Butler led the team with 16 points, while Kayla Alexander recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Orange made up for their lackluster shooting performance by getting to the free throw line, hitting 24-of-33 attempts. Syracuse gave Georgetown a hard time as well, limiting the Hoyas to 36% shooting from the field and forcing 26 turnovers. They also held Georgetown’s Sugar Rodgers, the nation’s second leading scorer, to just eight points on 1-of-12 shooting from the field.

La’Shay Taft, Elashier Hall provide sparks for the Orange

With the Orange leading 12-10 at the 9:04 mark of the first half, La’Shay Taft, who came into the game averaging 2.3 points per game, supplied some unexpected offense. Over the course of the next two minutes of play, Taft hit three straight three pointers, extending Syracuse’s lead to 21-14. When field goals were hard to come by in the first half, those jumpers kept the Orange going.

Then, Syracuse had one of its patented second half runs. After the Hoyas came out of the break with a 10-2 run, the Orange responded with a 15-0 stretch of their own. In the middle of it all was Elashier Hall, who recorded seven points, two assists, and one steal during the run. After gaining a 42-35 lead, Syracuse held on for good, not letting Georgetown to within less than four the rest of the way.

What this win means for Syracuse

The victory signifies a lot for the Syracuse women’s basketball program. In regards to the Georgetown rivalry, the win gives the Orange their first season sweep of the Hoyas since the 1995-96 season. It also marks Syracuse’s fourth consecutive 20-win season and the fastest the program has ever reached that mark, needing just 23 games to do so.

Three thoughts on SU's victory over Cincinnati

By Joe Diglio
February 5, 2013 - 10:19 pm
The No. 24/22 Syracuse women won their third game in a row tonight, beating the Cincinnati Bearcats (8-14, 0-9) 72-48 on the road. Here are some takeaways from the win.

Elashier Hall joins the 1,000-point club

Going into tonight’s game, Hall was three points away from becoming the 23rd player in program history to score 1,000 career points. She did more than enough, scoring a game-high 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. This game continued a great run for the accomplished senior, marking her fourth double-digit performance in a row.

The Orange defense continues to stifle opposing offense

Defense has been the catalyst of this small winning streak for the Orange, as they have allowed an average of just 47 points in their last three contests. Tonight, Syracuse held Cincinnati to 31.5% shooting from the field and forced 21 turnovers, which led to 24 points for the Orange.

Kayla Alexander continues to be a force in the middle

Throughout everything, the program’s all-time leading scorer remains the focal point of this team. Alexander matched Hall’s 23 points, and made her presence felt on the interior by grabbing nine rebounds and blocking five shots.