Women's Basketball

Peterson again shows scoring, distributing ability in blowout win over Canisius

Michael Cole | Staff Photographer

Alexis Peterson attacks the lane against Canisius on Tuesday night. Her 18 points and six assists helped Syracuse to a 70-37 win.

Alexis Peterson hit Syracuse’s first 3-pointer of the game and it set the tone for the rest of the half.

Her 13 first-half points came on 5-of-6 shooting, and all five makes came on deep jump shots. But in the second half, Peterson played the distributor, totaling four assists and attacking in transition before kicking out.

“Alexis was phenomenal tonight,” Orange head coach Quentin Hillsman said.

Peterson finished with a game-high 18 points and six assists in No. 19 Syracuse’s (8-1) 70-37 demolition of Canisius (4-5, 2-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic) on Tuesday night in front of 393 in the Carrier Dome.

The sophomore point guard spread Canisius out by knocking down jumpers early on. When defenders pressed out to stop her as the game progressed, Peterson drove to the hoop and distributed after forcing the Golden Griffins’ defense to collapse on her.



“I wanted to get everybody else involved, get everybody else going and just be like a positive force on the court,” Peterson said.

Five minutes into the second half, Peterson dribbled through the lane in transition. Even though she was fouled before she got the shot off, her momentum carried her in front of the seats behind the basket. When she turned around, teammate Bria Day gave her a high-five and said, “way to get down the court.”

Just a minute later, Peterson drove to the basket again, got fouled again and hit two free throws.

“She did a good job of reading all situations,” Hillsman said. “She just took shots when she was open.”

With about nine minutes left in the game, Peterson penetrated the lane again, except this time she spun past two defenders. Though her underhand scoop shot hit off the underside of the rim, the nifty move elicited “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd.

With yet another performance solidifying her role as SU’s top guard thus far, Hillsman acknowledged his team’s potential when its sparkplug is on full throttle.

“She really puts a lot of pressure on a defense,” Hillsman said. “When she gets out in transition and she really pushes tempo, we’re a very good basketball team.”





Top Stories