Syracuse’s undefeated season is still alive.

On Friday night in St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Syracuse (7-0) won its second game in as many days, defeating Memphis (3-4), 77-58. Brianna Butler scored a team-high 23 points and Brittney Sykes added 18 as the Orange picked up its second win in the Paradise Jam tournament.

“We knew Memphis would be a very tough team,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said in his postgame interview with Orange All-Access. “They’re really up-tempo, they play really fast. It’s one of those things where our kids really figured it out, played hard, and obviously to go on a 22-2 run was remarkable and turned the game around.”

SU put together one of its best shooting performances of the young season, shooting 45.2 percent overall and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Orange also controlled the glass, outrebounding the Tigers 43-32, led by a game-high 12 from Shakeya Leary.

Syracuse trailed early in the first half, though. The Tigers jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening 2:32, with the Orange’s only points coming on two Leary free throws.

In a 43-second span, from 16:06 to 15:23 of the first half, SU scored seven unanswered points. Butler hit her first of five 3s to put the Orange ahead 9-8.

A minute later, the Orange began a 15-0 run. Taylor Ford scored eight points during the stretch, including two 3s, and Sykes scored six points. Sykes hit a layup at the 11:45 mark, extending the Orange’s lead to 24-10.

“Taylor did a very good job of coming in and making shots,” Hillsman said. “We ran a few things for her early and she got going and made some shots and the shot in transition was huge and I think that was the shot that really broke it open for us.”

The Tigers cut the lead to five at 26-21 with 6:36 remaining in the half, but that was as close as Memphis would come for the duration of the game. SU went into halftime with a 45-30 advantage.

Memphis did not get within 11 points of the Orange in the second half, and Syracuse led by as many as 26 points.

Memphis’ Asianna Fuqua-Bey, who paced the Tigers with 14 points, hit a layup with 16:40 left in the second half to cut the Orange’s lead to 51-40. But SU held the Tigers scoreless for the next 4:14 and scored 15 straight points, taking its largest lead of the game at 66-40.

For most of the second half, the Orange’s lead hovered around 20, allowing Hillsman to stay true to form and play most of his roster. On the night, 10 SU players scored and SU’s bench outscored the Tigers’, 25-8.

Center Briana Day had six points in the second half.

“Just a total team effort that was just a remarkable win for our team,” Hillsman said. “Coming off of a tough game last night against Texas, to come out today and play strongly and beat Memphis, just two true quality wins for our resume.”

Syracuse looks to remain unbeaten at the Paradise Jam and on the season Saturday at 8:15 p.m. when it faces No. 12 Texas A&M (4-1).

Published on November 30, 2013 at 1:32 pm

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu