Syracuse University Athletics

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The trio of sophomore guard Nicole Michael, junior guard Chandrea Jones and freshman Erica Morrow led the Orange to a commanding 72-53 victory against Penn State on Thursday night in the Carrier Dome. Michael tallied 16 points and Jones and Morrow each added 15.

 

The Orange flipped its performance from a year ago when it lost to Penn State by 25 (71-46) in Happy Valley. The Orange's 19 point win improves the team to 6-1, while Penn State goes to 6-3.

"Obviously I am very happy," said head coach Quentin Hillsman. "This is a very big win for our program. It was just an awesome win. All the credit goes to our student-athletes. We put a game plan in place and they had to execute it, and they did. They did everything accurately from buzzer to buzzer. We can't take any of the credit, we have to give all the credit to our kids; they played as hard as they could and did everything they had to do. We did an awesome job. I don't know what to say. It was one of those nights where I thought that our kids just really competed at the level that they needed to compete at to be a post season team. We beat a team that just upset Duke and obviously that was a big win for our program."

 

Michael led the team in scoring for the second time this year and Jones registered her second double-double of her career with a game-high tying 10 boards.

 

Morrow connected on 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line, grabbed five rebounds and made a team-high three steals.

 

Senior forward Fantasia Goodwin continued her dominance off the bench with eight points and four rebounds. Helping Goodwin inside was senior center Vaida Sipaviciute, who added four rebounds and a game-high three blocks.

 

Penn State, who received votes in both polls, entered the game coming off an 86-84 victory against 11/10 Duke, on Dec. 2.

 

Syracuse's defense limited Penn State to only 31.7 percent (19-60) shooting, including 11.8 percent (2-17) from three-point range. The Orange forced 21 turnovers and outrebounded the Lady Lions, 41-39. SU is a perfect 6-0 when owning the glass.     

 

The Orange jumped out to an early 11-2 lead at 11:28 thanks to an 11-0 run that lasted 4:21. After two freebies by Penn State junior guard Rashida Mark, Michael started the streak at 19:24. Morrow and Sipaviciute each added a bucket and freshman guard Tasha Harris drained a three. Michael ended the run at 15:03 by eluding a defender in midair to send in the lay-up.

 

A three-pointer by Morrow and a lay-up by Jones gave the Orange an 18-4 lead at 11:28. The Orange defense held the Lady Lions to 1-of-14 shooting before Penn State scored seven straight to cut the deficit to 18-11 at 7:02.

 

The Orange heated up and nailed three treys in the final 5:01. Morrow had two and Michael sunk one. Morrow also added two free throws with 11 seconds left to produce the 35-18 halftime score. The Orange closed out the half on a 13-4 run. Two free throws by Jones complemented Morrow and Michael's buckets.

 

The Orange shot 37.1 percent (13-35), including 38.5 percent (5-13) from behind the arc. Penn State sent Syracuse to the line four times and the Orange made each try. SU's defense limited Penn State to 21.4 percent (6-28) from the floor. The Lady Lions threw up nine three-point tries but could not find the net.

 

Penn State's leading scorer this season, sophomore guard Tyra Grant was held with out a point until the 14:56 mark of the second half. The Orange responded with an 18-4 run that lasted 4:44. Senior forward Tracy Harbut got things started with a pull-up jumper at 13:54. Sophomore forward Vionca Murray highlighted the run with four straight, including three-point play at 9:10 to give the Orange its largest lead, 60-31.

 

The Lady Lions used a full court press and fouled to try and make up some ground, but were only able to come within 19 with a jumper, which produced the final 72-53 result, by junior guard Brianne O'Rourke with 59 seconds left. The Orange converted on all eight of its free-throw tries within the final four minutes.

 

The Orange shot a season-best 94.1 percent (16-17) from the charity strip. Jones was 6-for-6 and Morrow was 4-for-4. The Orange improved it's percentage from the first half to 46.2 percent (12-26) in the second to equal 41.0 percent (25-60).

 

Penn State was led by junior guard Mashea Williams, who scored 18 points and registered five rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Kamela Gissendanner pulled down 10 rebounds and totaled eight points. Grant was held to seven points and was 0-for-4 from behind the three-point line.

 

The Orange puts its four-game winning streak on the line when it returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. to host Northeastern in the Carrier Dome.