TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo (27-8) outscored the Orange 9-6 in overtime to end -/rv Syracuse’s (25-10) WNIT run in the quarterfinals with a 71-68 loss at Savage Arena on Sunday. The Orange finished another fantastic season, posting 25 wins, which match a program high. Syracuse also achieved this feat during the 2009-10 campaign.
Senior Erica Morrow led SU with 23 points, on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, and five rebounds in her final game in an Orange uniform. She ranks second on Syracuse’s all-time points list with 1,658 and is the program leader in games played with 130.
Sophomore center Kayla Alexander joined Morrow in double-figures with 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Sophomore Elashier Hall and redshirt-freshman Shakeya Leary added eight points apiece.
Syracuse held a commanding 44-34 advantage in rebounds and outshot the Rockets from the floor. SU went 24-57 (.421) overall, while Toledo shot just 23-61 (.377), but the Orange could not hold off the Rockets comeback attempt.
SU led by as much as 13 points in the first half and maintained an 11 point advantage with 14:25 remaining in regulation.
Back-to-back baskets by sophomore Carmen Tyson-Thomas and Morrow returned the Orange’s lead to double-digits, 50-39, with 14:25 on the game clock. The Rockets clawed back and a three-point play by Naama Shafir brought Toledo within six, 50-44, at the 12:52 mark.
Toledo slashed Syracuse’s advantage to just two points with consecutive three-pointers. On the ensuing play, a layup by the Rocket’s Melissa Goodall tied the game for the first time since the 16:32 mark of the opening period, 55-55, with 6:24 to play.
The final 6:24 of regulation featured three lead changes and the game was tied on three occasions.
A free throw by Andola Dortch gave Toledo its first lead of the second half, 59-58, with 3:34 left. With 1:54 remaining in regulation, Toledo took a 62-60 lead. Hall tied the game at 62 with 46 seconds remaining to force overtime.
In extra minutes, there were four lead changes and the game was tied once. Alexander gave SU a two point lead, 68-66, with 2:13 on the clock. Toledo hit a free throw and a jumper to go up by one, 69-68.
With 30 seconds remaining in overtime, Syracuse gained possession of the ball, but an offensive foul by junior Iasia Hemingway gave the ball back to Toledo with 8.4 seconds to play. The Orange was forced to foul and a pair of free throws by Shafir produced the final score, 71-68.
Toledo scored the first four points of the contest, but Alexander netted eight consecutive points to give the Orange an 8-4 lead at the 13:58 mark. Morrow and Hall hit back-to-back three-pointers to increase SU’s advantage to 10, 14-4, with 12:41 remaining in the first half.
Two free throws by Hemingway gave Syracuse its first double-digit lead of the game, 23-12, with 7:22 to play.
A jumper by Toledo’s Shafir brought the Rockets within five, 25-20, at the four-minute mark. The two teams traded baskets, but Morrow erupted for nine consecutive points, including two three-pointers to give the Orange 38-26 advantage heading into halftime.
A jumper in the paint by Morrow put Syracuse up 43-31 at the 18:13 mark of the second half. Toledo constructed a 7-0 run to cut SU’s lead to five, 43-38, with just under 17 minutes remaining in regulation.
Toledo was paced by Shafir’s 22 points and nine rebounds. The Rockets advance to the semifinals of the WNIT to play Charlotte, who defeated Virginia, 79-75, last night.
Courtesy: SU Athletics
