The Syracuse University women’s basketball team (7-3, 5-1 home) sealed a 56-50 win over Coppin State (2-7, 0-5 road) Saturday in the Carrier Dome.
Sophomore center Shakeya Leary [6] led the team, finishing the game with a career-high of 14 points for the Orange [7]. She had nine rebounds, four blocks, and one steal. Senior forward Iasia Hemingway [8] finished behind Leary with 13 points of her own.
The starters weren’t the only prominent players that contributed to SU’s victory. The bench added a total of 27 points. Sophomore guard Rachel Coffey [9] was on fire off the bench. Coffey scored six of Syracuse’s 27 bench points and also drained two-three-point shots.
The Orange ended the first half with a 21-4 run.
Coppin State [10] started to turn things around coming out of halftime. The Eagles started the second half with a 9-0 run. Then the Eagles’ guard Jaleah Holsey [11] scored a three-pointer to trim the deficit to only seven points.
Coppin State turned the ball over 15 times giving SU the opportunity to score a total of 16 points. Though the Eagles’ turnovers came in handy for the Orange, SU struggled with ball handling. The Orange had 27 turnovers, two more than Coppin State’s total of 25, by the end of the game.
The Eagles trailed 41-30 before ripping off a 6-0 run that cut the lead to 41-36 with 7:05 left in the game. Trailing 50-43, Coppin State got two free throws by Jeanine Manley [12] and a basket by Crystal Whittington [13] to help push the score within 50-47 with 1:46 left in the game. Leary, though, answered with a layup for Syracuse to up the lead to 52-47 with 1:13 to play.
Carmen Tyson-Thomas [14]was un-phased by the comeback by Coppin State, though, scoring a breakway layup to seal the victory for Syracuse.
SU shot 10 of 38 from the floor. The Orange also tied a season-high of 63 rebounds, five shy of the school record of 68. As for the Eagles, they put in much effort, but couldn’t overcome poor shooting and turnovers. Coppin State shot only 31 percent from the floor.
The Orange will get some rest until Dec. 18 when the team travels to Las Vegas, Nev. to take on Xavier [15]at 3 p.m. for the Duel in the Desert.
