Box Score
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Behind an explosive 23 points by freshman guard
Erica Morrow and a steady 20 by senior forward
Fantasia Goodwin, the No. 21/23 Orange women's basketball team came away from Seton Hall on Wednesday with a 81-72 win. Morrow connected on a career-best 5-of-7 from three-point range, while Goodwin used 10-of-12 shooting for her total.
"Erica is a very good player," said head coach Quentin Hillsman. "When she plays that way we are going to be pretty good. We just need her to keep competing and be aggressive."
Goodwin has scored in double-digits in 15 games and more than 20 points in two contests this season. She is tied for second on the team with sophomore forward Nicole Michael with 13.0 points per game.
"Fanny is around the rim and if she can get the ball down low, we'll be a pretty good basketball team," Hillsman said. "We are going to continue to play at the rim, be aggressive and be strong and that was the most important thing we did – we just played aggressive."
Michael and junior guard Chandrea Jones joined Morrow in Goodwin in double-figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Michael led the Orange in rebounds with seven.
The Orange didn't score until 7:51 into the contest when sophomore forward Vionca Murray connected on two free throws at 15:47, but was red hot in the second half scoring 51 points to improve to 19-4 overall for the first time in the program's 37-year history. SU is now 7-3 in BIG EAST play.
Syracuse's 51 second-half points tie for the most against a BIG EAST opponent this year and the highest second half total overall.
As the Orange struggled early, the Pirates cruised to a 15-2 first half lead at the 12:36 mark, but SU responded with runs of 9-0 and 11-0. Michael's three-pointer at 9:46 pulled the Orange within four (15-11) and capped her team's first streak.
After Seton Hall freshman Kashmere Joseph put the Pirates up, 22-15, Murray added two free throws and Morrow started streaking with three straight threes on three consecutive possessions. Her second connection from downtown gave the Orange its first lead of the night (23-22) and her final three-pointer increased the lead to 26-22 at 4:16.
Morrow caught fire again in the second half with two consecutive threes to put the Orange up, 53-42, at 10:31. The freshman has combined for 47 points in the past two games – she tallied a career-high 24 points in SU's 70-67 victory against Marquette on Feb. 10.
The Orange, which led at halftime 30-28, grabbed its largest lead of the game, 69-53, at 4:21 of the second after an 8-2 run, which Goodwin scored four.
Down the stretch, SU connected on 10 free throws to secure the win and finished shooting 90.0 percent (20-22) from the charity strip.
For the game, Syracuse shot 55.1 percent (27-49), including a season-high 58.3 percent (7-12) from behind the arc. SU outrebounded Seton Hall, 34-26, and scored 38 points in the paint.
Seton Hall finished shooting 41.0 percent (15-61) from the floor, 45.8 percent (11-24) from three-point range and 84.6 percent (11-13) from the free-throw line.
The Pirates were led by junior guard Jadis Rhodin's career-high 25 points. Freshman guard Ebonie Williams produced 15 points and junior forward Letitia Curry had 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
The Orange will face its fourth nationally ranked team this season when it welcomes No. 16/16 Notre Dame to the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the outing may be purchased on-line (
click here), over the phone (1-888-DOMETIX), or in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office during normal business hours. Once again, fans will be able to receive their tickets immediately after their purchase, using the "Print At Home" delivery method. For additional information, fans can contact the Carrier Dome Box Office toll free (888-366-3849) or (315-443-2121).