Women's Basketball

Syracuse women’s basketball cruises past Old Dominion, 92-66

Sam Ogozalek | Asst. News Editor

Gabby Cooper (left) scored a career-high 19 points and Alexis Peterson added 27 in SU's ninth victory of the season.

Twenty-point performances from both Alexis Peterson and Brittney Sykes powered No. 19 Syracuse (9-3) past Old Dominion (5-4), 92-66, Tuesday afternoon in the Florida Sunshine Classic at Warden Arena in Winter Park, Florida. The Orange has won its last five games each by at least 11 points, outscoring opponents by an average of 32.8 points over the streak.

Syracuse led 16-15 after one quarter, but outscored ODU 76-51 over the next 30 minutes of play. In the second frame, SU brought up its press from three-quarter court to full court, slowing the Lady Monarchs offense and leading to 41 points off 31 turnovers.

“It was about just getting our coverage better,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “We got a little more aggressive, kept our matchups, pressed early and that was the difference in the game.”

Peterson, who leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring, topped all players with 27 points. The senior point guard completed her third double-double of the season with 10 assists. She added seven rebounds.

Sykes, the ACC’s fourth-leading scorer, posted 20 points on an efficient 8-of-12 from the floor. Peterson and Sykes have scored at least 10 points in each game this season.



SU freshman guard Gabby Cooper scored a career-high 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting from 3. Before Tuesday, she hit only 25 percent of her 3s and averaged 7.9 points per game. On Tuesday, she found her stroke for her best game yet.

“Yeah, it was,” Hillsman said when asked whether Cooper’s outburst was just a matter of time. “She got open looks at the basket, started making shots.”

SU held Lady Monarchs redshirt senior guard Jennie Simms, whose 26.4 points per game ranked second in the country, to 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting. She committed eight turnovers.

“Getting our pace was really ideal in this game because we had a team that didn’t get up and down the floor really well in many situations,” Hillsman said. “We pressed her (Simms), kept her in front of us … they didn’t play the game with numbers against us very well.”

Syracuse, which shot 39 percent from 3-point range and 48 percent overall, returns to the hardwood Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. against Texas A&M.





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