Jump scored 24 points as No. 3 Stanford beat Syracuse 77-59
VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) - Hannah Jump scored 24 points, Haley Jones added 19 and Nadia Fingall had 10 points and 13 rebounds as No. 3 Stanford beat 18th-ranked Syracuse 77-59 on Friday night at the Greater Victoria Invitational.
Stanford (7-0) remained unbeaten on the season, while Syracuse (3-2) lost for the second time in three games overall.
'œI'm really proud of our team,'ť said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. 'œWe had a lot of contributors. Our team worked really hard for us. Obviously, Hannah Jump hit some big threes for us. That's what she does, so that was great. And, Nadia Fingall had a great game for us '“ scoring, rebounding, talking.'ť
Jump, a freshman from San Jose, connected on eight of 13 3-point attempts.
'œIt was amazing,'ť said Jump of her shooting success. 'œMy teammates did a really good job of finding me out there.'ť
Kiara Lewis led Syracuse with 19 points while Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi had 10.
Syracuse held the lead occasionally in the first quarter, but the Cardinal outscored the Orange 23-9 in the second quarter to take a 35-18 advantage at the half.
'œIt was tough,'ť said Orange coach Quentin Hillsman. 'œWe made one shot in the second quarter and you can't play that way. You've gotta be tough. You've gotta be aggressive. We give all the credit to them. They're a really good basketball team and they proved why they're the No. 3 team in the country.'ť
Stanford's ability to hold a large lead for most of the game contrasted sharply with the Cardinal's effort in the opening game of the tournament Thursday, when it led by 21 and allowed Cal Baptist to roar back and make the game close.
Stanford and Syracuse matched up well inside, staying close to each other on the rebound count at both ends of the floor. But the Cardinal's superior shooting ultimately outdid the Orange, which went 15-of-61 from the field.
'œWe can't have quarters where we only make one field goal,'ť said Hillsman.
But VanDerveer also had cause for complaint after what she called 'œa great win.'ť She lamented her team's eight missed free throws while connecting on 16 of 24 attempts for a 66.7% success rate.
'œFree-throw shooting, right now, is an Achilles heel for us,'ť she said. 'œWe're going to have to fix that in order to really go anywhere. We left a lot at the line there.'ť
TOUGH TESTS
Syracuse has faced some extremely tough opponents in two of the last three games, bowing first to No. 1 Oregon last Sunday and now No. 3 Stanford. But Hillsman took Friday's latest test in stride -- considering that his team plays in the ACC, which he rates as the toughest conference in the country. 'œIt's just much of the same, playing against the best teams in the country as we do every night in our conference.'ť
RANKING IMPLICATIONS
VanDerveer is glad that her squad is facing Mississippi State in the final. 'œIt's great for our team in November to play against that good a team.'ť
BIG PICTURE
Stanford continues to progress well as it faces the pressure of being highly ranked and some tough conference battles loom.
Syracuse faces a battle to live up to some preseason hype with tough ACC opponents coming up on the schedule.
UP NEXT
Stanford will face No. 10 Mississippi State in Saturday's final.
Syracuse will take on Green Bay in Saturday's third-place game.