GREENSBORO, N.C. – Alexis Peterson jumped up and down on the bench waving her arms and yelling directions to her teammates, but there wasn’t much she could do to help Syracuse’s offense. The fourth quarter was underway and the team’s starting point guard — and the game’s second-leading scorer at the time — was confined to the sideline with four fouls.

Instead, it was backup point guard Cornelia Fondren dribbling down the court. Despite Peterson’s attempts to control the Orange offense, it was Fondren who had the ball in her hands and was directing the show.

“Remember to be a solid point guard,” she thought to herself. “Get my teammates the ball. Pass it to them.”

And though Fondren wanted to just be solid, with the game on the line, she was much more than that.

She scored 10 points, grabbed six boards and picked up one steal in the fourth quarter to cement No. 3 seed Syracuse’s (24-6, 13-3 Atlantic Coast) 80-61 win over No. 6 seed N.C. State (20-11, 10-6) in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament on Friday night. With the Orange’s two leading scorers on the bench for much of the final quarter, Fondren took over the game and sent Syracuse into the semifinals to face No. 2 seed Louisville on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

“Corn was just huge,” head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “She handled the ball. She pressured the ball the entire game. What can you say about her? She was just amazing.”

Fondren ended the third quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer that hit the bottom of the backboard and left her shrugging her shoulders and throwing her hands in the air at Hillsman. But she started off the fourth on a much better note.

She hopped in the lane on a drive in the first possession, creating enough space in front of N.C. State’s Miah Spencer to sink the left-handed layup.

After a Brianna Day block, Fondren banked in a right-handed floater while fighting off a defender. It was fourth point in a span of a minute, despite having just two in the previous three quarters.

 

Evan Jenkins | Staff Photographer

 

“We made fun of her a little bit,” SU guard Brittney Sykes said. “We said she did a Tony Parker floater. And it was an and-one. They fouled her, but she finished it.”

Fondren didn’t just finish the shot. She finished the game.

With less than five minutes left, she tipped Wolfpack forward Chelsea Nelson’s pass so Sykes could pick it up and convert on an easy layup. Less than a minute later, she stopped N.C. State guard Dominque Wilson at half court and deflected her pass to Sykes. The eventual lay in gave the Orange a 16-point lead.

Her attempt at three makes in a row bounced off the back iron — her only miss of the quarter.

“She knew what we needed,” Peterson said.” Time and score. And she made the plays happen when we needed them.”

When SU needed to milk the clock near the end of the game, Fondren called for screens and dished out passes.

She hit a layup as the shot clock expired. She found a wide-open Briana Day in the lane that resulted in an open shot that Day missed.

“Alexis (Peterson) and Bri (Butler) were out, so I felt like I had to do more,” Fondren said.

Fondren entered the game leading the team in fouls and turnovers, but finished the contest with just one tally in each category.

As the final seconds of the game ticked off the clock, Fondren dribbled over half court and smacked hands with Hillsman while play was still going on. He trusted the game, SU’s conference tournament hopes and future seeding in the NCAA tournament in her hands.

She didn’t disappoint.

“What can you say about her?” Hillsman said. “She was amazing.”

Published on March 5, 2016 at 12:36 am

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