BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Junior Kayla Alexander (Milton, Ontario) scored a career-high 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead --/RV Syracuse (5-0) to a 90-57 victory against Binghamton (3-2). Alexander increased her career point total to 1,008. She becomes the 21st player in school history to score 1,000 points in her career.
"I thought we played a really good game," Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "Our plan was to get the ball inside and we thought if we could do that, Kayla had a chance to have a big game. We were concerned about guarding their big three. I thought we did an excellent job guarding on the perimeter."
Sophomore La'Shay Taft (Baltimore, Md.) joined Alexander in double figures in the scoring column, netting a career-high 22 points. Alexander, junior Elashier Hall (Washington, D.C.) and sophomore Shakeya Leary (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each pulled down 10 rebounds, helping the Orange to a 51-30 advantage on the boards.
The Bearcats jumped out to an early 10-2 lead before a three-pointer by Taft cut the lead to 12-5. Alexander followed with back-to-back baskets to bring the Orange within three at 12-9. With SU trailing 14-9, junior Shanee Williams (Queens. N.Y.) gave Syracuse its first lead of the game with her first three-pointer of the year. Williams' basket sparked the Orange on an 11-2 scoring run to give Syracuse a 25-18 advantage with 6:16 to play in the half. Williams had five points during the run.
After Orla O'Reilly scored to cut the lead to 25-20, junior Carmen Tyson-Thomas (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored five consecutive points to put Syracuse up 30-20. The Orange continued to build its lead, and Alexander's basket with one second left on the clock gave SU its largest lead of the half as it took a 48-31 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Binghamton opened the second half the same way it started the game, with a 10-2 scoring run that brought the Bearcats within 11 at 52-41 with 16:53 to play. Leading 56-45, Syracuse outscored Binghamton, 12-0, in a span of just more than two minutes as it increased its lead to 68-45 with 11:55 to play. The Orange continued to build on its advantage and recorded the 33-point victory.
Sophomore Rachel Coffey (Kingston, N.Y.) came off the bench and scored nine points and tied her career high with five assists. Hall finished with nine points and seven assists. Viive Rebane led Binghamton with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Orange continues its road swing on Tuesday, Nov. 29 when it plays at Boise State at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
Courtesy: SU Athletics
