Hayes leads UConn women past Syracuse 95-54
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Tiffany Hayes scored a career-high 35 points, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 19 points and eight rebounds, and third-ranked Connecticut pulled away from Syracuse in the second half en route to 95-54 victory on Wednesday night.
Connecticut (18-2, 7-1 Big East) won its sixth straight overall and beat Syracuse (13-8, 2-5) for the 21st straight time.
The Huskies were coming off an 88-44 win at then-No. 21 DePaul on Saturday night. Connecticut's previous five wins were by an average of 44.5 points and Syracuse, despite a gritty first half, simply became the next team to get run over.
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Iasia Hemingway led Syracuse with 15 points and Carmen Tyson-Thomas 11.
Bria Hartley had 18 points for Connecticut, which had 24 points off Syracuse's 17 turnovers and outscored the Orange 21-6 on the fastbreak.
The Huskies also shot 12 of 25 from beyond the arc and shot two more free throws than the Orange, who lead the nation.
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It was "Pack the House" night at the Carrier Dome with tickets set at $2 apiece, and among the school-record 4,357 fans was local star Breanna Stewart, the top prospect in the nation. The 6-foot-4 senior at Cicero-North Syracuse High School announced last February that she was headed to UConn, and she wanted a firsthand look at her future team.
At the outset, it was Syracuse who turned some heads, bolting to an 18-11 lead on Kayla Alexander's layup at 13:55. Hayes took control from there, scoring seven points in a 9-0 spurt, her fastbreak layup giving the Huskies a 20-18 lead just over 2 minutes later.
The score was tied three more times, but the Huskies never trailed again.
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After Shakeya Leary's pullup jumper in the lane tied it at 24-all, Connecticut ratcheted up the intensity with a press, and the Orange got frazzled. They committed four turnovers, missed two shots and had another blocked as the Huskies held them off the scoreboard for more than 4 minutes.
Hartley's three-point play broke the tie and began a 16-4 run capped by a steal and fastbreak layup by Hayes with 74 seconds left in the period. That gave UConn a 40-30 lead, but the Orange weren't ready to wilt just yet.
Carmen Tyson-Thomas corralled a missed free throw by Leary, passed to Rachel Coffey in the left corner, and she swished a 3 to send Syracuse into the locker room trailing just 40-33 despite 19 points by Hayes.
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Alexander's hook to start the second half moved the Orange within five, but the Huskies responded with a flurry of 3s to take control.
Hayes started a 25-5 spurt by hitting from long range on the right wing. Mosqueda-Lewis, who shot 3 for 10 in the first half including 0 for 4 on 3s, followed with a 3 from the same spot. After consecutive three-point plays by Hartley and Hayes, Hayes matched her career high with her sixth 3-pointer of the game. Her long, wide-open shot from the top of the key gave UConn a 61-40 lead with 14:26 left.
Both of Connecticut's losses this season were on the road — 66-61 at top-ranked Baylor and 74-67 in overtime against second-ranked Notre Dame in early January.
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Junior guard Caroline Doty, who left the DePaul game after playing just 2 minutes because her troublesome left knee swelled, did not play against Syracuse because of a minor bone bruise in the knee.