SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Erica Morrow scored a season-high 27 points, Tasha Harris hit a key late 3-pointer and inbounded to Iasia Hemingway for a big layup in the final minute, and Syracuse upset No. 6 Ohio State 75-66 on Saturday.
Syracuse (8-0) has won 36 straight nonconference home games, and none was bigger than this one. Ohio State (7-1), bidding for its second straight 8-0 start under coach Jim Foster, lost to Syracuse for the first time in 10 meetings.
Jantel Lavender led Ohio State with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Samantha Prahalis had 17 points and eight assists, and Brittany Johnson had 13 points.
Syracuse beat second-ranked Connecticut 62-59 in January 1996 at Manley Field House for the program's first-ever win over a ranked opponent. That UConn team had won 40 consecutive Big East regular-season and tournament games and featured stars Nykesha Sales and Jennifer Rizzotti. It remains the Orange women's signature win, but this one ranks as a close second.
Leading 50-42 with 12:35 left, Syracuse seemed ready to cave when Prahalis, Tayler Hill and Johnson hit 3-pointers in succession to pull Ohio State to 54-51 with 10:29 left.
But every time the Buckeyes moved closer the Orange held them at bay. Morrow's basket from the right wing put Syracuse up 61-56 with 6:56 left, but six straight points from Lavender got the Buckeyes within 63-62.
Carmen Tyson-Thomas responded with a 3 from the left corner to give Syracuse some breathing room, and after Prahalis' driving layup at 3:49, Ohio State's final basket, the Orange assumed control.
Sarah Schulze was called for a foul as she made a two-handed layup, and the basket was waved off with 3:01 left. Forty-one seconds later, Harris swished a 3 from the right corner, her only one of the game, to give the Orange a 69-64 lead, and her inbound pass to Hemingway made it 71-64 with 48 seconds left.
Syracuse entered the game tops in the nation in fewest points allowed per game at 43.8, and the Orange had held Delaware State to just three points in the second half of an 87-17 win a week ago. That was one point off the NCAA record, and Delaware State registered its lone basket of the period with 28 seconds left.
Syracuse also ranked first in field-goal percentage defense (28 percent) and rebounding margin (+20), and despite the step up in competition the Orange women more than held their own against the Buckeyes, who found few openings in the Syracuse zone.
Ohio State shot 38.7 percent, was 8 of 30 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc, and was outrebounded 43-33 as Syracuse matched the Buckeyes with 24 points in the paint.
The game turned Syracuse's way after the Orange fell behind by 10 points midway through the first half.
Lavender, who had 12 points in the period, swished consecutive 10-foot jumpers to give Ohio State a 20-10 lead with 9 minutes left, but after Johnson hit a pull-up jumper at 7:26 to maintain that 10-point margin, Syracuse went on a 16-0 run to gain the lead for good.
The Buckeyes displayed little patience during the Syracuse charge, content to fire and miss from long range. They were 2 of 13 in the first half from beyond the arc, and the Orange took quick advantage.
Shakeya Leary started the Syracuse surge with a jumper from the top of the key and Elashier Hall followed with a 3 from the left corner. Morrow's driving layup gave Syracuse a 25-24 lead at 4:39, giving the Orange 10 points in just over 2 minutes.
Lavender, hounded by two, three and sometimes four Syracuse players every time she touched the ball inside, finally stopped the Ohio State skid with a layup off the glass at 1:06. It was the first basket for the Buckeyes in more than 6 minutes.
Morrow's 3 from the top of the key with 6.5 seconds left gave her 15 points and the Orange a 35-28 lead at the break.
