The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team moved to 5-0 on the season with a 61-49 come from behind win over the Utah Utes in the Hall of Fame Classic at Mohegan Sun.
Domonique Darius led the Orange with 16 points and 10 rebounds as Syracuse ended with a 49-34 advantage on the glass, with 24 of Syracuse’s boards coming on the offensive end. Those opportunities led to 12 second-chance points for the Orange as they get their first P4 win of the season.
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Neither team shot the ball well in this one, so it was nice to see that this Syracuse team could grind out a win when the offense wasn’t clicking. Once again the Orange were able to generate pressure on defense as they forced 21 Utah turnovers for the game.
It was a 25-21 Utah lead at the half as Syracuse shot 7-34 from the field in the first two quarters, but an 8-0 run in the third bracketed by 3s from Darius and Laila Phelia pushed the Orange in front 42-39 heading into the fourth.
Syracuse dominated the final quarter as they pulled away from Utah down the stretch using an 11-0 run to secure the victory and insure they leave Connecticut with one non-conference win.
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Phelia added 14 points for Syracuse while Uche Izoje had 10 points and 9 rebounds. Journey Thompson came off the bench to score 7 points while grabbing 9 rebounds- 8 on the offensive end. Sophie Burrows did a bit of everything for Felisha Legette-Jack’s squad scoring 7 points with 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals.
Syracuse is back in action tomorrow as they face the #6 Michigan Wolverines (4-1) at Noon tomorrow on FS1. The Wolverines lost to UConn 72-69 last night despite 29 points from Syla Swords. It’s going to be a big test for the Orange but also a big opportunity for them to boost their NCAA resume.
