Syracuse Women’s Basketball: Attendance Record Broken at the Dome
By Ty Butler
The Syracuse women might’ve lost to Notre Dame, but the crowd was treated to a phenomenal game at the Dome between Top-25 teams.
A trip to the National Championship game raises expectations. Especially when you’re a program returning most of your players like the Syracuse did. Coach Quentin Hillsman has been adamant about changing the culture of the women’s basketball team. And Sunday evening proved to be a step in that direction.
Though the Orange fell at home 85-80 to No. 7 Notre Dame, there was solace taken in the fact that a goal had be accomplished. With 11,021 fans in the building, the program-record for attendance had been shattered.
"“It was a great crowd and a major moment for our program to have that kind of support,” Coach Q said following the game. “We played a great three quarters. We just have to do a better job of getting in front on that action, playing off the high post, and doing what we are supposed to do. But, it wasn’t for a lack of effort.”"
The Orange played an inspired game for the large home crowd. They led by as many as 13 points in the 1st quarter. The offense was clicking, led by Alexis Peterson who finished with 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 14 assists.
But the Fighting Irish lived up to their namesake. They stormed back with a few hay-makers and took a nine-point lead with 3:27 left to go in the game. This affair looked all but over, but some missed free-throws kept ‘Cuse in it.
Peterson had a chance to tie the game with a three in the waning seconds of regulation. But she
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couldn’t get it to go over the outstretched arms of multiple defenders. Syracuse had its 18-game home winning streak snapped and fell to 18-9 (9-5 ACC).
Like Peterson, Brittney Sykes played the entire game. She finished tied with her backcourt-mate with 19 points. Sykes also tallied eight rebounds and two steals.
The problem in this wasn’t offense. The Orange finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field. Four players were in double-figures. They were efficient at the charity stripe, converting on 12-of-16 free throws and committed just 10 turnovers.
Unfortunately, the defense was Swiss-cheese. The Fighting Irish shot 52 percent from the field (57% in the second-half) without much success from downtown (4-of-14). In the second half alone, they put up 50 points.
They dominated the paint with 44 points and excelled in second-chance opportunities with 22. Syracuse just couldn’t find an answer to stop Notre Dame’s inexorable attack. The effort was there. The execution? Not so much.
This game was tough to swallow, considering the start for the Orange. Then you begin to toy with the idea of letting a quality win get away. And it happened in front of a crowd you wanted to desperately prove something to. To make matters worse, it was the second loss in three games against ranked opponents. Not ideal for building a resume.
Syracuse came into the game ranked 21st in the country. With the loss, it actually somehow rose in the rankings to No. 20 and Notre Dame also moved up to No. 5.
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But the reality is this was a significant boost for Coach Q and the women. Orange Nation showed up and the team put on a show, even in a losing effort. Hopefully, this big attendance numbers becomes more of the norm rather than a forgotten about aberration.