SU women’s basketball mauls Monmouth on opening night
SU women's hoops destroys Monmouth in season opener
The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball led wire-to-wire, dominating the Monmouth Hawks in the season opener at the Dome.
SU’s women’s basketball flexed their muscles Wednesday evening, proving too much for the Hawks in an 87-46 win. In front of the home fans, the Orange stayed true to the game plan that acting head coach Vonn Read implemented.
“This is what we expect to do every time we take the court. Our intensity fed off the crowd,” Reed said. “That’s all you can ask for this early in the season.”
Syracuse answered Read’s challenge by turning defense into offense throughout the night. SU owned the edge in almost every stat category, as they forced eight turnovers in the game’s first four minutes – a number that the Orange would not exceed until the closing few minutes of the first half. Additionally, Syracuse owned a landslide +26 differential in points off turnovers before garbage time.
On the flip side, Syracuse struggled a bit in the half-court offensively. However, a key substitution to bring in Teisha Hyman midway through the first quarter ignited the offense. Shortly after Hyman entered, SU gained its first double-digit lead as Christianna and Chrislyn Carr splashed a pair of three’s.
While SU dabbled with a double-digit lead for much of the first half, it was not until the four-minute mark of the second quarter when the Orange broke the game open. Syracuse slammed the door on any Monmouth life, closing the half on a suffocating 14-2 run capped off by an Alaysia Styles bank shot buzzer-beater.
“It all starts on the defensive end,” said Chrislyn Carr, who led the Orange in scoring while posting three dimes. “Us dominating the boards helped ease the transition to our offense.”
After the rout tonight, Syracuse will shift its focus to conference play and host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday at noon.
is a contributor to The NewsHouse.
