Morrow scores 23 points, Syracuse zone shuts down No. 7 West Virginia in 67-48 win

Morrow leads Syracuse over WVirginia, 67-48

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Erica Morrow scored 23 points, Syracuse’s efficient zone defense shut down West Virginia in the second half, and the Orange beat the seventh-ranked Mountaineers 67-48 on Monday night.

West Virginia (26-4, 13-3 Big East) had won six straight since an 80-47 loss at No. 1 Connecticut, but the Mountaineers, with the fourth-ranked defense in the nation, had the tables turned in this one. They were 3-of-21 shooting and scored just 14 points after the break but still clinched second place in the conference.

Senior night for Syracuse (20-9, 7-9) was spoiled when Nicole Michael, the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, left the game with 14:35 left in the second half after injuring her right foot. She finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

After trailing by 14 in the opening minutes of the game, Syracuse regrouped behind its defense and took control with a 25-6 spurt to start the second half.

The Orange outrebounded West Virginia 54-36 — including 27-10 on the offensive end — and forced 28 turnovers.

Liz Repella, West Virginia’s leading scorer, scored the game’s first five points. However, after making one of two free throws with 8:14 left in the first half, she did not score again until making a pullup jumper with 1:58 remaining in the game and finished with 11 points. Sarah Miles had eight points, all in the first half.

Juanita Ward, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, converted a follow of a missed 3 by Michael to give Syracuse a 36-35 lead with 18:17 left and the Orange steadily pulled away.

Morrow, who had to sit the previous game because of an ejection for fighting in a home loss last week to top-ranked Connecticut, hit a driving scoop and swished a 3 from the top of the key after a steal by Elashier Hall to give Syracuse a 47-39 lead.

A win seemed improbable at the outset. Syracuse missed its first five 3-point attempts and shot 11 of 41 (26.8 percent) in the opening half. With just under 8 minutes remaining in the period, Syracuse was 4 of 30 from the floor despite a 12-3 advantage on offensive rebounds.

When Repella hit a jumper in the lane at 11:20, the Mountaineers led 22-8. But the Orange defense tightened, forcing 14 turnovers in the period, and Syracuse closed the half with a 10-4 spurt to pull to 34-30.

In the final minute, Morrow set up a layup by Kayla Alexander and then swished a 3 from the top of the key at the buzzer to give Syracuse the jolt it needed.

Two years ago, the Orange upset the 14th-ranked Mountaineers 73-51 in the Carrier Dome. It was one of the biggest wins in school history and kept the Orange on target for only the fourth NCAA tournament berth in the program’s 39-year history.