Like so many previous times in this young season, Syracuse allowed an inferior opponent to hang around for the first half on Thursday night.

But in the end, like usual, Kayla Alexander was too much for Dartmouth to handle, and the Orange was able to put away its opponent with ease.

“We did a good job getting her the ball,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said in a phone interview. “We shoot at least 35-percent behind the arc, then they’ve got to guard the open perimeter and they can’t double. That’s a big thing for us.

Despite leading by just four points at halftime, Syracuse (7-0) put Dartmouth (1-4) away with ease 91-64 in front of 513 at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H., behind the dominating play of the Orange’s star center, who finished with 27 points.

Alexander turned in a 14-point first half and helped guide SU to an 11-point lead with less than seven minutes remaining in the first half, but Syracuse missed back-to-back jump shots and made just one over the final five minutes as the Big Green cut the lead to 37-34 heading into the break.

“I never felt uncomfortable in the first half, to be honest,” Hillsman said. “… It was never a kind of game where I thought they had momentum and control of the game.”

Alexander broke things open at the beginning of the second half. The center scored on a layup just nine seconds into the half, then after Dartmouth missed a 3-pointer on the other end, Elashier Hall nailed one of her own. A quick steal by Cornelia Fondren gave the Orange the ball right back before another layup by Alexander expanded SU’s lead to 11 just 1:01 into the second half.

Alexander scored five of the next seven SU points and the Big Green was never able to cut the lead to single digits in the final 16 minutes as Syracuse cruised to seventh straight win.

The Orange’s 6-of-17 3-point-shooting performance opened up the interior for Alexander’s big night.

“We’re making teams come out and guard us. As long as we can make shots, as long as we can keep the floor spread and allow her to play one-on-one we’ve got a good shot.”

Alexander also added six blocks and six boards to help spark the SU transition game. Brianna Butler, Rachel Coffey and Carmen Tyson-Thomas each scored in double figures.

The Orange returns to action Sunday at 2 p.m. against Temple, concluding a seven-game road trip before returning to the Carrier Dome Tuesday against Wagner.

“Our kids really know how to respond to tough situations,” Hillsman said. “It was a tough game, and they played really hard.”

Published on November 29, 2012 at 11:44 pm

Contact David: [email protected] | @DBWilson2