Syracuse used a thunderous first-half run to quell Albany’s early momentum. The No. 4 seed Orange (28-6, 13-3 Atlantic Coast) beat the No. 12 seed Great Danes (28-5, 15-1 America East), 76-59, in the NCAA tournament’s Round of 32 on Sunday in the Carrier Dome.

With the win, SU advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. Syracuse will face the winner of No. 1 seed South Carolina and No. 9 seed Kansas State in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Friday or Saturday.

Alexis Peterson carried Syracuse with 22 points, Bria Day gave SU a lift off the bench and Brittney Sykes finished with a season- and game-high 24 points.

Here are three observations from the game.

Exactly what it wanted

Syracuse has lost in the Round of 32 in the past two seasons. When the season started, head coach Quentin Hillsman said the goal for the season is to advance further than it ever has. After the ACC championship game, Hillsman said he expects his team to reach the Sweet 16. When the NCAA tournament bracket came out, he said he wanted to get a chance to learn a lot more about Sioux Falls.

On Sunday, SU accomplished what it hadn’t been able to in the past two years. And it did so by playing the same style that’s been successful all season. The Orange’s press defense helped force 23 turnovers and scored 20 points off them. It attempted 27 3-pointers and made eight of them.

Hillsman has had a distinct philosophy and it was on display against Albany as Syracuse notched its biggest win in program history.

Sister, sister

Just two minutes into the game, starting center Briana Day picked up her second foul. Twin sister Bria Day came in to replace her and played the final 18 minutes of the first half. Entering the game, Bria’s season-high in minutes was 20. She was tasked with anchoring SU’s 2-3 zone and defending the nation’s sixth-leading scorer, Albany forward Shereesha Richards. Bria only recorded three points and four rebounds before the break, but her defensive presence forced Albany into tough shots and she picked up her sister’s slack seamlessly.

Briana started the second half with the starters and repeatedly switched in and out with her sister after halftime. The duo helped contain Richards and prevented her from dominating the game. But Bria’s contributions in the first half is what allowed her sister to get ample time in the second frame before fouling out with 1:33 left.

Pistol Petey

Alexis Peterson continued her impressive postseason scoring streak. In the first half, she went 5-of-10 from the field, including two 3s that energized SU’s best crowd of the season (3,842 in attendance). Her first triple came four minutes into the game. After her next one, she and Hillsman held three fingers up in the air as Syracuse extended its lead to 10.

Late in the third quarter, Peterson subbed back in for Cornelia Fondren after Fondren sloppily dribbled near halfcourt and turned the ball over. Less than 10 seconds after subbing in, she calmly hit a midrange jumper from the free-throw line and continued to prove herself worthy of her first-team all-ACC selection.

As Albany cut SU’s lead to nine with six minutes to play in the fourth quarter, shades of the Great Danes’ comeback against Florida two days earlier crept back. But Peterson drove to the basket and drew a foul on the next possession. She furiously clapped four times at the free-throw line, sunk both and held her follow through after the second.

Seemingly every time Albany made a push to come back, Peterson was there to squelch it.

Published on March 20, 2016 at 2:32 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds