TicketsFeb. 5, 2013
CINCINNATI — Dayeesha Hollins (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods) scored a team-high 13 points, but it was not enough for the University of Cincinnati women's basketball team to overcome 21 turnovers as it fell to No. 24/22 Syracuse University 72-48 Tuesday evening at Fifth Third Arena.
UC (8-14, 0-9 BIG EAST) was led offensively by Hollins after the 5-foot-6 junior guard shot 4-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Alyesha Lovett (Newark, N.J./Malcolm X Shabazz) followed with eight points and tied for the team lead with four rebounds, while adding three assists.
Cincinnati struggled to contain Syracuse (19-3, 7-2 BIG EAST) senior center and the BIG EAST Conference's third leading scorer Kayla Alexander, who totaled 23 points and nine rebounds. Alexander, who leads the league in blocked shots, swatted five Bearcats field goals. Additionally, the Orange received 23 points and eight rebounds from senior guard Elashier Hall.
The final score was not indicative of a competitive conference matchup that saw the Bearcats trail by just one point early in the second half.
Following a Lovett 3-pointer from the left wing that cut SU's lead to 31-30, the Orange scored 10-straight points to increase their lead to 41-30 at the 16:08 mark of the second half.
UC produced five-straight points on a pair of free throws by Hollins and a Kayla Cook (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster) 3-pointer before SU upped its lead to 12 points, 50-38, with a 9-2 run. Syracuse gradually built upon its lead, outscoring Cincinnati 13-3 over the final 6:47 of the game.
UC's 21 miscues resulted in 24 points off turnovers for the Orange, who shot 49 percent from the field. Comparatively, Cincinnati connected on 31.5 percent of its field goals, including 25.9 percent from 3-point range.
Cincinnati went into halftime trailing 31-27 after Syracuse ended the first half on an 8-2 run.
Despite outrebounding the Orange 18-11 in the first period, the Bearcats trailed largely due to their 12 first-half turnovers, which led to 15 points for the Orange.
Each team's leading scorer paced their respective squads through the first 20 minutes; Alexander totaled 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and Hollins netted eight points after nailing 3-of-7 field goals.
Both teams were slow out of the gates after producing a 4-2 SU score more than five minutes into the game.
Syracuse went on a 9-2 scoring spurt over a span of 1:50 for a 15-6 lead at the 12:19 mark.
Cincinnati responded with a quick 7-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from Lovett to cut the deficit to 17-13 with 9:31 remaining in the first half.
Four Bearcats made field goals during a 9-0 spurt that gave UC its only lead of the game at 25-23 at the 4:05 mark of the first.
The Bearcats resume action Saturday when they travel to Piscataway, N.J. for a 6 p.m. tipoff versus Rutgers University.