UW Women Fall to Syracuse

The Washington Huskies women’s basketball team fell 80-59 to Syracuse in the Final Four yesterday.

It’s the end of the Cinderella story that was the Washington Huskies season this year, an 80-59 loss to Syracuse in the Final Four. Washington, a seven-seed in the National Tournament, were giant-killers. They defeated Maryland to reach the Sweet 16 and knocked out Kentucky on their home court along the way. They fought hard for the right to play the mighty UConn Huskies in the final but came up short against Syracuse.

Talia Walton led the Washington Huskies 29 points and a Final Four record eight three-pointers. Kelsey Plum, the nation’s third-leading scorer, put up 17. The Huskies had lost to Syracuse earlier this season 66-62 after nearly coming back from an early 21-point lead. This time, however, the Orange suffocated the Huskies for the entire game, building a 23-12 lead in the first quarter and taking a 39-20 lead midway through the second quarter.

Alexis Peterson scored 18 points and Brittney Sykes scored 17 for the Orange, including a back-breaking three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter.

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There’s no reason to hang their heads after losing to Syracuse. The Washington Huskies won 26 games this year, their most since the 1989-1990 season. It was their fifth-straight season in which the Huskies won more than 20 games in a season. Along with making their first Final Four in program history, the Washington Huskies also had their first player–Kelsey Plum–named a WBCA All-American.

Syracuse will face undefeated UConn tomorrow night and attempt to prevent their former Big East foe from winning a fourth consecutive national title in the National College Women’s Basketball Finals in Indianapolis.

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Plum and company would have loved to test themselves against Geno Auriemma’s super-team in the finals, but getting to the first Final Four in Washington Huskies women’s basketball history in stunning fashion is a reason for pride.