SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Behind a career-high 23 points from Carmen Tyson-Thomas (Philadelphia, Pa.), the Syracuse women’s basketball team defeated Buffalo 79-59 on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome.
The Orange (4-0) had three players in double-figures, including Kayla Alexander (Milton, Ontario) (15 points) and Iasia Hemingway (Newark, N.J.) (18 points), marking the third straight game that the trio has all registered double-digit points.
Tyson-Thomas, who also had nine rebounds, was 8-of-16 from the field and recorded a season-high four steals. As a team, SU was 30-of-68 overall (44.1%), including 6-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Syracuse took advantage of 22 Buffalo turnovers throughout the game, including 13 steals from the Orange, with 30 points. Elashier Hall (Washington, D.C.) had three steals and added a career-high eight assists.
"That was definitely the key to the game," said head coach Quentin Hillsman. "That put us in transition, and we were able to score off of that."
After SU opened the game with a bucket from Alexander, Buffalo responded with a three-pointer from Ephesia Holmes to take a 3-2 lead, its only lead of the half. Holmes had 15 points, while Brittney Hedderson led all Bulls scorers with 20 points (6-of-19).
With a combined six turnovers through the first 8:05 of the first half, the Orange came out of the second media timeout on an 11-0 run, capped by a three-point basket from Tyson-Thomas. During the run, the SU defense held the Bulls without a field goal for nearly six minutes on 0-of-5 shooting and six turnovers.
Syracuse came out of the halftime break on a 9-2 run, highlighted by four points from both Alexander and Hemingway. The Bulls attempted to cut into the SU lead midway through the half with back-to-back baskets, but La’Shay Taft (Baltimore, Md.) (nine points) silenced the Buffalo attack with two straight three-pointers from the left side.
Hemingway led the charge for SU in the second half, dropping 14 points in the final 20 minutes on 6-of-11 from the field. Syracuse sealed the victory from the free throw line with a 10-of-14 performance from the line in the second half (13-of-20 for the game).
The Orange will hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday when Syracuse travels to Binghamton for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
Courtesy: SU Athletics
