Syracuse opens Big East play with a win and a loss

Syracuse vs Rutgers

The Orange fell to the Scarlet Knights 55-44 on Tuesday, Jan 3., in Piscataway, N.J. SU’s women's basketball team put up a fight but it wasn’t enough to hold off No. 10 Rutgers. 

SU’s senior forward Iasia Hemingway led the Orange with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. SU’s junior guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas was behind Hemingway adding 12 points of her own. Tyson-Thomas added 10 rebounds and a steal in her fifth double-double of the season.

The key element that led to Syracuse’s downfall was the turnovers. The Orange dug themselves into a hole and had a total of 27 turnovers in the game.

In the beginning of the game, Tyson-Thomas gave the Orange a head start by scoring 10 of the team’s first 16 points. This gave the Orange a 16-15 lead with just eight minutes to go in the opening half. The Scarlet Knights turned things around with a 10-2 run with 4 minutes remaining to give Rutgers a seven-point lead at 25-18. Rutgers’ junior guard Erica Wheeler finished the first half with a bang by landing a 3-pointer to give her team a 28-20 lead.

In the second half, the Orange managed to get back into game by evening the score at 36 with eight minutes remaining. The Scarlet Knights weren’t going to let the Orange get too comfortable though. Rutgers answered back with an 11-1 run to take a 10-point lead, 47-37. From there on out the Scarlet Knights took control.

As for the rest of the Scarlet Knights, both of RU’s senior guards April Sykes and Khadijah Rushden scored 14 and 13 points respectively.

Syracuse vs Pittsburgh

Four days after the loss to Rutgers and some rest, SU women’s basketball team came up with a win in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Orange beat the Panthers 83-60 and gained its first Big East victory. SU’s senior forward Iasia Hemingway had a career-high of 33 points to help lead the Orange to victory. She also tied SU’s season-high for points.

It was the Orange’s defense in this game that helped SU seal the win. The Panthers struggled trying to get around Syracuse’s defense all together. The Orange denied the Panthers on the floor and held the Panthers to 29 percent shooting in the second half of the game.

SU’s junior center Kayla Alexander blocked four shots in the game, giving her 203 blocked shots in her career. She is the fourth SU player to reach the 200-block mark.

Hemingway helped the Orange to a 14-4 run by scoring the final nine points in the game.

The Orange (12-5) returns to the Carrier Dome to take on St. John’s (10-6) in Big East play on Wednesday at 7 p.m.