Syracuse 76 - Albany 59: Orange Defeat Danes, Advance to First-Ever Sweet Sixteen

It's been a season of history-making moments and firsts for the Syracuse Orange women's basketball team. The chance to create new ones will continue following the team's 76-59 takedown of the Albany Great Danes in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

The Orange now move on to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history.

Alexis Peterson and Brittney Sykes ran the show for the Orange, contributing 22 and 24 points respectively. Maggie Morrison came off the bench to contribute 11 while Brianna Butler added six. Quentin Hillsman said yesterday that the Orange would shoot 50 three-pointers if need be against the Danes zone but they only ended up attempting 27 (making eight). Sharpshooter Butler attempted eight but only made two (not that Q cares).

2:35 into the game Albany took an 11-6 lead but the Orange quickly reversed that trend and never looked back. They led 40-33 at halftime and kept extending the lead throughout the second half. SU out-shot Albany with a 40 percent shooting percentage but the Danes did out-rebound the Orange, 43-37. It wasn't enough to make up for their own poor three-point shooting day (18 percent).

The Orange now leave the comfy confines of the Carrier Dome and head to Sioux Falls, SD where they'll play the winner of 1-seed South Carolina vs. 9-seed Kansas State (full bracket). If it is South Carolina, Syracuse and USC have some recent history as the Gamecocks knocked SU out of the tournament last year and SU almost knocked off the then-No. 1 Gamecocks in 2014. They're hoping they can finish the job this time around when they meet on Friday, March 25.