By MARK FRANK
Associated Press
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Alexis Peterson had 17 points and Brianna Butler added 16 to lead a quartet of Syracuse players in double figures, and the No. 23 Orange defeated No. 10 Florida State 83-73 on Thursday night.
Brittney Sykes and Taylor Ford chipped in with 15 apiece for Syracuse (21-6, 11-3 ACC), which won its seventh straight. Briana Day had 11 rebounds. The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for the Seminoles (21-5, 11-2).
Adut Bulgak, who left the game with an apparent knee injury with 8:47 to go, led the Seminoles with 23 points, including 5 of 7 on 3s. Shakayla Thomas had 19 points and Ivey Slaughter 13.
Florida State suffered a big blow when Bulgak left the game. She returned but only briefly.
The Orange, nursing a 47-44 halftime lead, opened the third quarter with a 15-3 run to take a 62-47 lead with just over six minutes to go in the period. Ford hit consecutive 3-pointers during the stretch.
The Seminoles sliced the lead to 65-60 at the of end of three, going on a 13-3 run to close out the quarter, led by six points by Thomas, who hit two layups and a short hook. The Orange connected on just one field goal in the last 6 minutes, a 3-pointer by Ford.
The Seminoles closed to 65-62 on two foul shots by Bulgak at the start of the fourth, but Syracuse countered with a 9-0 run to take a 74-62 lead on a layup by Day with just over seven minutes to go and the Seminoles never could recover.
Florida State led 13-11 with about 3 minutes to go in the first quarter when Syracuse went on a 15-3 run to end the first 10 minutes with a 26-16 lead. It was the first game FSU trailed after the first quarter since their last loss, against Louisville to open conference play. Five Syracuse players scored during the stretch, with Peterson’s two layups leading the way.
The Orange took a 31-18 lead on a layup by Sykes, but the Seminoles went on a 13-0 blitz in a three-minute span to tie the game at 31 with just under six minutes to go in the first half. Thomas scored nine straight points during the run, including two putbacks.
A 3-pointer by Maggie Morrison gave the Orange a 34-31 lead back.
TIP-INS:
Florida State: The Seminoles have been a dominant team in the second half this season, especially over their last seven games. In that span, FSU was outscoring opponents by 14.6 in the second half before Thursday night. … FSU had won seven of its previous 12 games against Top 25 opponents.
Syracuse: Syracuse is the 10th program in the nation to win at least 20 games seven years in a row. … Peterson has led the Orange in scoring 14 times and is six points shy of becoming the program’s 26th 1,000-point scorer. … Butler is now in 24th place in NCAA Division 1 history in career 3s made
UP NEXT:
Florida State hosts No. 2 Notre Dame Monday.
Syracuse visits Pittsburgh Sunday.
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