CINCINNATI, Ohio - Seniors Kayla Alexander and Elashier Hall scored 23 points each to lead No. 24/22 Syracuse women's basketball (19-3, 7-2) to a 72-48 victory at Cincinnati (8-14, 0-9) on Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena. Hall's 23 matched a career-high as she became the 23rd player in Orange history to reach 1,000 points in her career. Hall drove and scored in the lane at the 10:03 mark of the first half to push her past the 1,000-point plateau, putting her at 1,001. Her 23 points matched a career finished the game at 1,020 career points, joining classmates Alexander andCarmen Tyson-Thomas in the 1,000-point club. The Orange's 19-3 overall record is its best after 22 games in program history, while its 7-2 BIG EAST record surpasses its league win total from last season. After Dayeesha Hollins hit a 3-pointer to open the second half and pull Cincinnati within one, 31-30, the Orange went on a 10-0 run in which all the points were scored by the trio of seniors in the 1,000-point club. Alexander capped off the run with jumper at the 16:08 mark. The closest UC would get the rest of the way was at the 14:26 mark when Kayla Cook hit a 3-pointer to make it a six-point game, 41-35. After that, SU would slowly wear down the Bearcats and pull away, out-scoring them, 31-13 over the final 14 minutes, leading by as many as 25 with 2:03 to go. The Orange shot 49 percent from the field, led by Alexander's 8-of-12 effort, while Cincinnati, led by Hollins' 13 points, shot 31.5 percent. The Bearcats held a slight edge on the glass, 33-32, but SU out-rebounded them, 21-15, in the second half. Syracuse forced 21 UC turnovers, turning them into 24 points. SU used 9-2 run over a 1:50 span to take control of the game early on. A steal and layup by Brittney Sykes capped off the run, putting the Orange on top, 15-6. The Bearcats responded with a 9-0 run in which it held SU scoreless for over four minutes to take a 25-23 lead with 3:43 left in the half, but the Orange outscored the Bearcats, 8-2 over the duration of the half, aided by 3-pointers by Hall and Rachel Coffey to take a 31-27 lead into the locker room. Alexander led all first-half scorers with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while Hall added nine. The Orange shot 50 percent as a team in the opening 20 minutes and turned 12 UC turnovers into 15 points. The Bearcats held the edge on the glass, out-rebounding SU, 18-11. The Orange returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 12 when it travels to Washington, D.C. to face Georgetown in an 8 p.m. tip-off at McDonough Arena.
Courtesy: SU Athletics
