Box ScoreVILLANOVA, Pa. – The Orange dominated the final six minutes at Villanova on Saturday to cruise to a 73-60 victory and improve to 15-3 overall and 3-2 in the BIG EAST. Behind 25 points and 10 rebounds by junior guard
Chandrea Jones the Orange is guaranteed to finish above .500 for the first time since the 2001-02 season – the last time SU made the NCAA Tournament.
"The major thing about this game and getting to the 15th win insures us a winning season and makes us eligible for postseason play," said head coach Quentin Hillsman. "It's nice to get it done in just 18 games because it's difficult and we have to grind and reach our goal of making the postseason. At least now we put ourselves in a position to play in the postseason somewhere."
Jones led the charge with her fifth career double-double and sophomore forward Nicole Michael posted her sixth of the season and 15th of her career with 18 points and 12 boards against the Wildcats. She has tallied a double-double in each of the Orange's BIG EAST victories.
With Syracuse trailing 56-54 with 6:13 left in the game, Jones connected on a free throw that started a 19-4 run for the Orange lasting the remainder. Syracuse sunk 10 free throws down the stretch and finished the game with a 70.6 percent mark (24-34) from the charity stripe.
The game was tight until the Orange's second half run with the score tied nine times and the lead changing hands six times.
"We came out in the second half with a different kind of urgency," Hillsman said. "We came out and guarded them, played them really tough and limited them to getting wide-open threes."
The Wildcats launched 30 three-pointers during the contest, but only sunk 10. Villanova started the contest making 10-of-21 from the field until the 7:57 mark, where the Wildcats held a 26-16 advantage. Syracuse heated up and Villanova cooled down as the Orange used a 16-6 run and held the Wildcats to 2-of-10 shooting to pull the score even (32-32) with 1:48 remaining.
Michael drained a wide open three-pointer at 3:44 and a fast-break layup by Jones tied the game. Wildcat senior forward Stacie Witman gave her team a 34-32 lead with just over a minute remaining, but Jones drove to the hoop and was able to find the bottom of the basket at the buzzer.
Sophomore forward Vionca Murray had a big first half with nine points as the Orange worked the Wildcats down low. Jones produced 10 during the first and Michael had eight.
Murray finished with 10 points and Michael's stat line included three blocks, including two in the second half.
Senior forward Fantasia Goodwin posted nine points and eight boards and converted on two three-point plays during the Orange's game-winning run.
For the seventh time this season, junior guard Cintia Johnson dished out a season-high tying four assists and led the team.
Syracuse shot 37.7 percent (23-61) from the field and 33.3 percent (3-9) from behind the arc. The Orange outrebounded the Wildcats, 50-35, scored 18 second-chance points and had 26 points in the paint.
Villanova shot 35.0 percent (21-60) and only had 11 second-chance points and 16 points in the key.
The Wildcats were led by junior forward Laura Kurz, who had 19 points. Whitman added 13 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. Villanova goes to 11-7 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
The Orange returns to the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Jan. 26 for a 2 p.m. contest against St. John's.