When Elashier Hall’s 3-point attempt clanged off the rim as time expired, Syracuse’s grueling two-day stretch got a bit more difficult. The Orange and Georgia Tech headed to overtime tied at 63 in the opener of the San Juan Shootout.

SU (5-0) and the Yellow Jackets (2-2) battled back and forth in the extra frame, but Hall knocked down three of four free throw attempts in the final 21 seconds to clinch Syracuse’s 75-72 victory in Puerto Rico and propel the Orange into the second half of two games in a 26-and-a-half hour stretch on a positive note.

SU faces Virginia (3-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Hall was in command all day for Syracuse, logging nearly 34 minutes and leading the team with 15 points. The guard also grabbed 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and fifth of her career.

Still, GT, which trailed by as much as 10 in the second half, was able to battle back and take a lead on a Brittany Jackson bucket with four minutes remaining.

From there, it was a back-and-forth affair. Neither team led by more than a point over the next nearly two-and-a-half minutes until Carmen Tyson-Thomas hit a jumper with 33 seconds remaining. Just 14 seconds later, though, Dawnn Maye answered to force overtime.

Maye was dominant in overtime, as she was all day. The guard led all scorers with 26. During a stretch spanning the end of regulation and the beginning of overtime, she scored 10 straight points for Georgia Tech.

The 10th point gave the Yellow Jackets a one-point lead with less than four minutes remaining in overtime, but Kayla Alexander and Tyson-Thomas each scored to give the Orange a lead it would not relinquish.

After beating its second consecutive opponent receiving votes in the most recent AP Poll, things don’t get any easier for SU. Syracuse has a less-than-24-hour turnaround before facing the Cavaliers – another team that received votes – Saturday in the Orange’s San Juan Shootout finale.

Published on November 23, 2012 at 6:14 pm

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