New-Look Syracuse Women’s Basketball Cruises to Opening Night Victory over Monmouth
By Stephen Sklar
CitrusTV Women’s Basketball Beat Reporter
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse Women’s Basketball started off the 2021-22 season by crushing Monmouth, 87-46. SU fans got a great look at what some of the fresh faces for this squad are capable of.
Three players for the Orange scored in double figures tonight and all of them came to Syracuse this past offseason via the transfer portal. Syracuse’s top performer was former Texas Tech and Baylor guard Chrislyn Carr who led both teams in scoring with 15 points. Carr added one rebound and two assists to her stat line.
The Orange poured 52 of its points in the second and third quarters, highlighted by a 35-2 scoring run starting with about four minutes left in the second.
The biggest asset for SU was its three-point shooting. It was 0-4 from three to start the game, but quickly turned things around. As a team, Syracuse shot 8-22 from beyond-the-arc with Howard grad-transfer Jayla Thornton and former Arizona State forward Eboni Walker each draining a pair.
This team was every bit as good on defense as it was on offense. To go along with the great shooting performance, the Orange forced the Hawks into 33 turnovers. These extra chances went a long way in getting the Orange in rhythm after starting off slow in the first quarter.
Syracuse welcomed redshirt sophomore guard Teisha Hyman back to the court after she took last season off to recover from an ACL injury. This was her first on court appearance since February 27th, 2020. Hyman put together a solid showing on offense with 9 points, and led the team in rebounds with nine.
Tonight’s win was Acting Head Coach Vonn Read’s first win in his new role with the team.
Syracuse has a four-day lay-off before its ACC opener against Notre Dame on November 14th. SU will send Felisha Legette-Jack’s jersey to the rafters that day, making her the first female athlete in school history to get her jersey retired. Tip-off is at noon.
sasklar@syr.edu | @stephenasklar
