A little over a month ago in Coral Gables, Fla., the Syracuse men’s team needed a 14-4 run at the end of the game to defeat the University of Miami.

On Thursday, the Syracuse women needed no such heroics. The Orange (19-8, 8-6 Atlantic Coast) overcame an early eight-point deficit and cruised by the Hurricanes (13-13, 5-8) 69-48 at the BankUnited Center. Brittney Sykes led the way with 18 points and six rebounds, and Shakeya Leary added 12 and 11 boards.

“In the second half we really got the ball moving and got the floor spaced,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “We got ball movement, we got the ball inside and we made shots.”

Despite not leading until the 2:40 mark of the first half, Syracuse buckled down on the defensive end and made eight shots from beyond the arc throughout the game to create separation. The Orange came away with eight steals — three apiece from Sykes and Leary – and had seven blocks — four of which were recorded by Leary.

A three-point play from Leary — who recorded her sixth double-double of the season — gave SU the lead for good late in the first half.

A Leary jumper a minute later gave the Orange a 27-24 lead heading into the half.

“She played tremendously,” Hillsman said of his starting center. “We want to throw the ball inside to her and she’s got to make a decision. When they collapsed, she threw it out and we made 3s. When they played her one-on-one she scored the basketball.”

She helped build a lead the Orange wouldn’t relinquish.

But early on, it took a while for the Orange to thaw out in the Sunshine State.

“We didn’t make shots,” Hillsman said. “We were like 0-for our first six or seven shots.”

But then the SU defense turned on its gears, preventing a Miami field goal for a three-minute stretch. Forward Taylor Ford scored five straight points, and the Orange cut Canes’ early lead to 12-7.

Then Syracuse began the second half like Miami began the first half, going on a 9-2 run before Miami called a timeout at the 18:23 mark.

A 3-pointer each from La’Shay Taft and Brianna Butler extended the lead to 44-28.

By then the rout was on. Taft hit another 3 followed by one from Rachel Coffey to give the Orange a 50-31 advantage.

Later, on back-to-back possessions, Leary pulled down a rebound and then scored a layup to give the Orange a 61-42 lead.

For the Orange, it was a balanced effort in the win. Leary and Taft both finished with 11 points, Butler scored nine and Coffey and Ford both finished with seven.

“I think, right now, what’s happened is that we’re bringing La’Shay Taft off the bench,” Hillsman said. “She’s a scorer for us. She’s a real threat coming off the bench. That changes the way teams play us because we have another shooter in the game.”

The victory guarantees SU a .500 record or better in its first ACC season.

Said Hillsman: “In the second half we made shots, and I think that definitely turned the game around. And we turned (Miami) over, too. Our defense was very good.”

Published on February 20, 2014 at 11:25 pm

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