Student-athlete Postgame Remarks
SYRACUSE - In a game that featured five ties and three lead changes, the Syracuse women's basketball team (12-3, 1-1) grinded out its first BIG EAST win of the season, 68–54, against No. 17/14 Rutgers (8-4, 0-1) on Tuesday evening to keep its eight-game win streak alive at the Carrier Dome.
Junior forward Nicole Michael became the 18th player in Syracuse history to break the 1,000-point career milestone in the triumph. Michael has amassed 1,005 points in 72 career games, tying Felisha Legette (1985-89) to become the second fastest player in Syracuse history to hit the 1,000-point mark. Martha Mogish (1978-81) hit the 1,000-point mark in her 66th game. Michael totaled 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
Sophomore guard Erica Morrow scored a team-high 17 points and five rebounds as she extended her streak of scoring 15+ points to eight consecutive contests. Morrow added three assists and a steal. Senior guard Chandrea Jones finished with 16 points behind a 10-of-13 performance from the charity stripe and gathered nine rebounds. Junior forward Vionca Murray tallied seven points while freshman forward Troya Berry contributed six timely points in the victory.
The Orange duked it out with the Scarlet Knights all night as Syracuse earned itself a season-high 38 trips to the line, converting 26 tries (68.4 percent). Syracuse outscored Rutgers in points off of turnovers (19-14) and fast break points (14-6) to key the win.
The Scarlet Knights galloped out to a 7-0 lead, coercing head coach Quentin Hillsman to call an early timeout under the two-minute mark. Michael ended SU's draught, 7-2, at 17:14. Morrow fed off of Michael's bucket for the Orange's first trifecta of the game while Jones converted an old-fashioned three-point play at 12:32. Rutgers managed to sneak two baskets in between Syracuse's three-point plays to remain ahead, 11-8, with 11:25 to go in the first session.
Over the course of the next four minutes, Syracuse's tenacity loosened the Scarlet Knights' grip as the Orange trailed by only one, 17-16, with 7:36 remaining. Michael went 4-for-4 from the line while Morrow capitalized on a wide-open lay-up within that time.
With 2:44 to play in the first half, Michael signed off on her 1,000th career point in dramatic fashion, burying an 18-foot jump shot to give Syracuse its first lead of the contest, 23-21, capping a 6-5 run in favor of the Orange.
Each team traded baskets before Harris launched a shot from way beyond the arc as time expired, handing Syracuse a five-point pad, 28-23, before heading into the break.
Syracuse earned 12 trips to the line as a testament to its ferocious play under the boards. The Orange knocked down eight attempts while Rutgers went 4-of-4 from the free throw line. SU outrebounded Rutgers on the offensive glass, 16-10. Syracuse turned nine Scarlet Knight turnovers into 11 points in the first half, as well.
Syracuse sustained its pressure, holding Rutgers scoreless until 17:09 of the second half while Jones and Murray paired up to boost the Orange ahead, 32-25, in four minutes of action.
Rutgers deflated Syracuse's momentum and ran off a 14-3 spurt over the course of the next five and a half minutes to recapture the lead, 39-35, with 11:43 to go after four different Scarlet Knights found the bottom of the basket.
Rutgers built upon its advantage, 44-37, but junior forward Juanita Ward fired back with two straight field goals to get back to within three, 44-41, forcing Rutgers' head coach Vivian Stringer to call a timeout with nine minutes left in the game. Stringer's breather backfired as Murray made a lay-up with an extra toss to knot the game back up, 44-44, marking the fourth tie of the contest and sealing a 7-0 run for the Orange.
After an exchange, Berry sparked a 10-2 run for Syracuse with two back-to-back layups as the Orange took the upper hand, 56-48, into the waning three minutes, and Syracuse never looked back as SU maintained its composure down the stretch for the 68-54 victory.
The last time the Orange defeated Rutgers was on January 14, 2004, in overtime fashion, 59-57, at Manley Field House.
The Oranges descends upon the Buckeye State to continue its BIG EAST slate on Saturday, January 10 at Cincinnati. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.