Syracuse 85, NC State 75: Peterson leads Orange women with record 45 points

The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team was 0-3 against ranked teams heading into Thursday night. Make that 1-3 now, after SU beat the 22nd-ranked NC State Wolfpack 85-75 at the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse came back from a 12-point halftime deficit on the strength of Alexis Peterson’s school-record 45 points. State came out hot from the floor and stayed that way, shooting 50.9 percent from the floor. While the Orange failed to ever really right the ship on offense (they still only hit 39 percent of their field goals), Peterson’s tenacious work attacking the basket paid off tremendously. She was 17-of-19 from the free throw line while also hitting six threes.

Brittney Sykes was the only other Orange player to score in double figures, contributing 17 points to go along with five assists and five rebounds. Outside of Peterson and Sykes, the rest of the team shot 9-of-25 from the floor.

Coach Quentin Hillsman was pretty proud of Peterson’s performance following the game:

"Just an amazing performance by Alexis in the second half. You know, we just needed her to take the game over. Just a great team win, great effort, and Alexis Peterson was just amazing. Sometimes, you have to have a player come in and be amazing and that's what she was."

SU outscored NC State 31-13 in the fourth quarter, which ultimately made the difference in the 10-point win. Peterson, who was responsible for many of those points, actually set a Carrier Dome record with her 45. Not only was it the most by any SU women’s player — it was the most by any men’s or women’s player in the building’s long history.

With their fourth consecutive win, the Orange now improve to 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the ACC. Next up is a trip down to Atlanta on Sunday, January 15 to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.