SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse University’s women’s basketball team (30-7) is headed for its first-ever national championship game in Indianapolis on Tuesday night following an 80-59 win over the Washington Huskies in an NCAA Tournament national semifinal game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Number 4 seed Syracuse made 12 three-point shots, used suffocating pressure defense to force 18 turnovers, and led wire to wire to eliminate number 7 seed Washington. The Orange also dominated the boards, grabbing 46 rebounds to only 28 for the Huskies.
Alexis Peterson paced Syracuse with 18 points and Brittney Sykes chipped in 17.
The Syracuse women will next play the dominant UConn Huskies for all the marbles on Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. in the national title game. UConn, led by former Cicero-North Syracuse High School star Breanna Stewart, trounced Oregon State by a national semifinal round record 29 points in Sunday night’s first Final Four game.
UConn (37-0), which has won 74 straight games, is seeking its fourth consecutive national championship. The data analytics website, fivethirtyeight.com currently gives UConn a 97 percent chance to win the title again, while it offers Syracuse just a 3 percent chance.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com