Syracuse Escapes With 70-66 Win Over Women's Basketball

BOX SCORE (.html)
BOX SCORE (.pdf)

HEAD COACH ANNE DONOVAN & JASMINE CREW POSTGAME QUOTES (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Syracuse edged the Seton Hall women's basketball team, 70-66, on Sunday afternoon. The Pirates (7-13, 0-6) boasted four players in double figures, led by senior Jasmine Crew (Camden, N.J.), who led the way with 19.

Crew also posted a career-best eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Senior Tajay Ashmeade (Bronx, N.Y.) secured a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds against one of the top front lines in the BIG EAST.

After falling behind 7-4 early, SHU went on a 10-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by Terry Green (Bridgewaters, N.Y.) with 12:24 remaining in the first half, to give the Pirates a five-point lead. A put-back by Troya Berry with 6:59 on the clock put the score back in favor of Syracuse, 23-22.

Elashier Hall gave the Orange its largest lead of the half, 32-27, with a trey from the right wing with 4:31 remaining before the break. The Pirates bounced back to even things up at 34-34 with 41 ticks on the clock, but SU converted on 3-of-4 from the line in the closing moments to take a three-point edge into the locker room.

Ashmeade scored the opening bucket of the second period, but the Orange ripped off a 10-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game, 47-36, at the 15:39 mark. Trailing by 10 with 13:00 minutes to go, Green then went off for eight points to spark a 17-0 outburst.

Green nailed a straightaway three-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the Pirates on top, 57-55, for the first time since the early stages of the game and then followed with a baseline triple to extend the lead to five with 9:33 left. The Pirates took their biggest lead of the game on two free throws by Jazzmine Johnson (Glen Dale, Md.) with 6:31 to go.

SU turned up the pressure on its full-court trapping defense to throw off SHU's offensive rhythm, and pulled within 64-62 with 3:38 to go. After a series of missed shots by both squads, Crew hit a reverse layup with 1:24 remaining to make it a two-possession game.

Hall drilled the biggest of her three trifectas with 57 seconds on the clock to cut the Pirates' lead to 66-65, and the Orange forced a turnover on the ensuing possession. With 29 seconds left, Hall was fouled and hit the first free-throw to tie the score. Hall missed the second try, but Iasia Hemingway was there to corral the loose ball. She scored on a put-back and was fouled, giving the lead back to Syracuse. Hemingway converted the traditional three-point play to push the score to 69-66.

Crew had a chance to net the equalizer, but her trey from the right wing was off the mark, and the Orange walked away with the victory.

Seton Hall shot 40.6 percent for the game, which is the highest mark since they knocked down 45.6 percent at Memphis on Dec. 30. The Orange, the nation's top rebounding team, held a 46-38 advantage on the glass.

The Pirates travel to Tampa, Fla., to take on USF on Wednesday, January 25. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.