Alexis Peterson attacked the hoop while being sandwiched by two Stony Brook defenders. The Seawolves’ Kori Bayne-Walker tumbled to the floor and drew a charge.

Peterson turned around to stare at the ref and threw her hands up in disappointment.

On Syracuse’s next possession, Peterson pump-faked to get her defender out of her path. She penetrated the paint again. Again the ref blew their whistle, this time for a charge.

But within the next 60 seconds, Peterson turned the game from a tie to an SU lead that it wouldn’t give up. A mid-range jumper. A 3-pointer. A 34-31 lead. The third-quarter sequence flipped the game on its head and sparked a 16-5 SU run.

“If I dwell on the turnovers then I’ll never be able to progress,” Peterson said. “… I just have to keep my team moving forward.”

And after Syracuse faced a two-point halftime deficit, that’s what the Orange did.

It was No. 20 SU’s (5-2) third-quarter turnaround that led to a 64-49 win against Stony Brook (4-4) on Sunday in the Carrier Dome. The Orange bumped a 26.7 field-goal percentage to 36.5 after scoring 20 second-half points in the paint compared to 10 in the first. After a lackluster opening two quarters ended with Syracuse down 25-23, 22 third-quarter points allowed it to cruise to victory over a team that has never beaten a ranked opponent.

Other than switching from a zone full-court press to a man-to-man one — something Syracuse has typically done in third quarters this season — the difference came down to finishing plays, whether it be hitting open shots or forcing turnovers.

“There was no adjustment to be made because we were doing the things we had in our game plan,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “You can’t make an adjustment until you figure out what you’re doing isn’t working. So there’s nothing to adjust.”

With less than three minutes left in the third quarter and Syracuse up by only four, Isabella Slim was called for an illegal screen. But on Stony Brook’s next possession, Davion Wingate was met at halfcourt by Peterson, who trapped her along the sideline.

Wingate picked up her dribble and rushed a pass that landed in Jade Phillips’ hands. Peterson flew up the court and served as the outlet for Phillips before laying in another easy two points.

After seemingly every negative play in the third, the Orange answered it with a positive one.

One possession after Wingate was trapped at midcourt, the Seawolves couldn’t cross it in time and turned it over due to a 10-second violation. Five free throws later and SU was on a 9-0 run, breaking open a game that was close just minutes earlier.

“(When) you’re down their throat the whole second half and you’re pressing them and you’re up on the ball and not giving them a chance to get into their half-court offense, they start to lose energy,” guard Brittney Sykes said, “and that’s where we go on our run because it’s easy run-outs for those layups.”

Earlier this week, Hillsman told reporters his team had to be more productive in the third quarter. Entering Saturday, the Orange had been outscored 105-90 in the third period this season compared to outscoring opponents by 65 in all other quarters. It needed fourth-quarter comebacks to stave off upset bids by Rhode Island, Washington and Fordham.

But against Stony Brook, SU didn’t let it come to the final 10 minutes. The Orange took care of business a little bit earlier this time.

“Once we started making shots, we started getting into our half-court traps,” Hillsman said. “We got some steals, got some man-ups, got some balls going to the basket, sat back in our pressure. That was the difference in the game.”

Published on December 6, 2015 at 6:35 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds