SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Brittney Sykes took a few dribbles inside the arc, pulled up and knocked down a mid-range jumper. Then she took a charge, got up and yelled. Minutes later, she hit another mid-range jumper.

Five minutes in and Sykes was already leaving her imprint on Syracuse’s historic 80-72 upset win over South Carolina.

“She was excellent,” point guard Alexis Peterson said. “She came out of the gate hot.”

In No. 4 seed SU’s (28-7, 13-3 Atlantic Coast) eye-opening upset of the No. 1 seed Gamecocks (33-2, 16-0 Southeastern) in the Sweet 16, Sykes had 17 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes. Since senior night on Feb. 18, Sykes has scored at least 13 points in seven of Syracuse’s last nine games. She’s provided a spark that the Orange only had for three games last season due to two torn ACLs.

“Yes, I’ve been through a lot, but that’s behind me,” Sykes said. “It’s a blessing I’m still here and still playing. I’m ready to make more history with my team.”

In its first-ever Elite Eight appearance, SU will face No. 7 seed Tennessee on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

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MORE COVERAGE

• Syracuse upsets No. 1 seed South Carolina for first-ever bid to the Elite Eight
• Briana Day holds her own against South Carolina’s post players in 80-72 win
• Quentin Hillsman explains how to cut down the nets to his players

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Sykes backed up the best performance of her career — 24 points against No. 12 seed Albany in the Round of 32 — with another impressive game. And her string of consistent play is helping take Syracuse to new heights. She didn’t play in either of two losses to South Carolina last season, but was another key cog in the Orange’s machine against the Gamecocks on Friday.

“I think they might have overlooked her a little bit,” Peterson said, “because they haven’t seen her play and she didn’t play against them.”

On USC’s first possession of the third quarter, Sykes caught Tina Roy dribbling too far from her body. She leaned in and poked the ball away. As it rolled toward the sideline, Sykes dove for it, knocked it out of bounds off Roy and Syracuse gained possession.

When she got up, she stared into the floor, clenched her arms and fists at her side and a grin crept across her face.

With 16 seconds remaining and SU clinging to a four-point lead, Sykes went to the free-throw line, a spot she has struggled for most of the season, averaging 61.4 percent on the year coming into the game. Within two seconds of game time, she hit three free throws to extend the lead to seven.

Then on South Carolina’s inbounds, she reached her arm up into the air and snagged the ball, and the game, for good. The player who missed both meetings with USC a year ago was the one who sealed the deal on Friday.

“She’s a senior and she’s a veteran and she knows what we need,” Peterson said, “so she just came out, we’re not going to lose, we’re not going to go home and she knew that.”

Published on March 26, 2016 at 2:14 am

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