When Marquette’s Lauren Tibbs nailed a jumper with 2:28 to play, Syracuse’s once 15-point lead had evaporated to just four. In a fast-paced game full of scoring, the Golden Eagles had plenty of time to finish the rally.

But from there, the Orange buckled down.

Syracuse held Marquette scoreless for the final two minutes, closing with a 9-0 run to earn a 92-79 victory in its Big East opener on Saturday night in Milwaukee. After holding a 48-44 edge at halftime, Syracuse opened the second half with a 21-10 run and held on at the end. With the win, the Orange improves to 13-1 on the season, while Marquette falls to 8-6.

“These games, they’re typical Big East games,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “Marquette did a good job rebounding. But we started the second half well, got shots, made shots and moved the ball.”

After Tibbs’ bucket pulled Marquette within four, it was important for Syracuse to come away with points on the next possession. The Orange managed to do so, with two offensive rebounds keeping the possession alive despite a missed 3-pointer by Carmen Tyson-Thomas and a missed jumper by Kayla Alexander.

Finally, Rachel Coffey fed Alexander inside for a basket that extended SU’s lead to six, 85-79. Marquette missed its last seven shots, and the Orange never looked back.

Alexander was her reliable self against the Golden Eagles, leading the Orange with 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting, while going 6-for-8 from the line. Alexander made her mark in only 25 minutes of play.

“Kayla was solid,” Hillsman said. “It was one of those games, she had to keep grinding, and she was able to play physical in the second half.”

Aside from Alexander, freshman guard Brittney Sykes had a night to remember, scoring 19 points and adding nine rebounds. After struggling through a tough shooting stretch earlier this season, Sykes vowed to work on her shooting near-obsessively over winter break, and it looks like the work has paid off.

Sykes went 5-for-9 from the field on Saturday, 9-for-10 from the line, and was able to back up her season-high 20-point effort in SU’s previous game against Boise State.

“She’s playing really well,” Hillsman said. “She’s moving the ball in transition, and she’s getting up and down the floor.”

After a loss at Temple on Dec. 2, the Orange has strung together six consecutive victories, each by at least 13 points. With early-season tests against power-conference foes such as Georgia Tech and Virginia, Hillsman hoped to provide high-caliber competition that would serve the team well once Big East play rolled around.

Now, conference play is here. Syracuse has a week off before playing two Big East home games in a span of four days, against Georgetown on Jan. 12 and DePaul on Jan. 15.

SU then takes a trip to play No. 1 Connecticut, who lost to No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday, on Jan. 19.

At 13-1, all things look good for the Orange in its quest to turn in a strong campaign and make a run at the NCAA tournament. But of course, the win Saturday night was just one step of many.

“We’ve just got to work hard and continue to stay healthy,” Hillsman said. “We’ve got to keep doing good work on both ends of the court.”

Published on January 6, 2013 at 12:31 am

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