Louisville Too Much for Syracuse as Orange is Dominated at Home

The fourth ranked Cardinals were impressive on the road.

Neither a return to the Carrier Dome nor some fancy new threads were able to help Syracuse in their shootout Sunday afternoon, as it fell to No. 4 Louisville 100-64.

Catapulted by a 14-4 run to begin the game, the Cardinals never trailed in this matinee contest. As everyone expected them to, they bullied the Orange all game on the glass, winning what was more of a full on ambush rather than a battle on the boards 55-26.

Although her team indeed ended up coming away with the win, the game did not go as planned for Emily Engstler either, who returned to Syracuse for the first time since transferring out this summer. Playing with an abundance of personal fouls early on, she found herself handcuffed to the bench for large portions of the contest. However, she still ended up with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocked shots.

For the Orange, Najé Murray put together another complete game in the box score, adding 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Chrislyn Carr found success baiting Louisville defenders with her ability to create space off the dribble, which allowed her to rack up 14 points.

“When it got late, we got tired,” Carr said after the contest. The Orange indeed seemed to run out of gas down the game’s stretch, getting outscored in the final period 35-14.

However, Murray felt pleased with her team’s effort, mentioning that they “did the best they could.” She also acknowledged Louisville's prowess, calling them a “pick your poison team,” and even referring to their offense as a “powerhouse.”

The Orange have now lost all but one contest since their December 18th victory over UMBC, which came as a sixth straight win at the time. Syracuse now finds themselves on the less enjoyable side of what’s been a season of streaks. Prior to their victory over Pittsburgh last week, the Orange had lost six straight and now look to be trending back in that direction with an additional loss to Miami not too far back in the rear view mirror.

If they want to turn things around, they’ll have to do so on the road now, with their next matchup scheduled in Charlottesville vs Virginia.