University of Washington
Syracuse
Washington Falls to Syracuse in NCAA National Semifinal
April 04, 2016 | Women's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Alexis Peterson scored 18 points and Brittney Sykes added 17 to help Syracuse defeat Washington 80-59 in Sunday's national semifinal game.
The Orange (30-7) will face UConn, the three-time defending champions, on Tuesday night in Indianapolis. The Huskies set a semifinal round record with a 29-point victory over Pac-12 champion Oregon State in the early game.
Washington (26-11) was led by Talia Walton, who had 29 points and made a Final Four record eight 3-pointers. The previous record of six was set by Katie Steding in the 1990 title game and matched in 2013 by Antonita Slaughter. Kelsey Plum, the nation's No. 3 scorer, had 17 points.
But Syracuse rode its defense and took a 23-12 lead after one quarter, extended the lead to 39-20 midway through the second quarter and never let the Huskies get within single digits again.
The story line looked awfully familiar.
In their first meeting this season, Syracuse built a 21-point lead before Washington rallied to within one. The Orange held on for a 66-62 victory.
This time, Syracuse never let it get that close.
When Washington cut the halftime deficit to 43-31, Peterson hit a 3 to start a 9-4 spurt that made it 52-35. When the Huskies got within 11, Syracuse used a 15-2 run to make it 67-43. And when Washington closed to 72-59 midway through the fourth quarter, Sykes and Brianna Butler made back-to-back 3s to seal it.
Now the Orange will try to prevent their former Big East foe, UConn, from winning a fourth straight national title and finishing another perfect season.
TIP-INS
The Huskies' 26 wins was the most for UW since 1989-90 season.
It was Washington's First Final Four in school history.
Kelsey Plum was the first player in school history to be named a WBCA All-American.
The Huskies registered 20+ wins for a fifth-straight year.
