No. 16 Louisville women beat No. 21 Syracuse 81-69 on milestone night for Orange's Dyaisha Fair
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kiki Jefferson had 21 points and Nyla Harris totaled 18 points and 14 rebounds to guide No. 16 Louisville to an 81-69 victory over No. 21 Syracuse on a Thursday night that saw the Orange's Dyaisha Fair move into fifth place on the all-time scoring list.
Jefferson made 6 of 12 shots and 9 of 11 free throws for the Cardinals (19-3, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Harris, a sophomore, matched her career high in points and set a personal best in rebounds for her third double-double of the season and career.
Fair scored 28 on 10-for-23 shooting for the Orange (17-4, 7-3). She made 4 of 9 shots from 3-point range and the foul line. Fair passed Florida International's Jerica Coley (3,107 points from 2011-14) and increased her total to 3,129. Up next is Baylor's Brittney Griner, who scored 3,283 from 2010-13. Washington's Kelsey Plum is the all-time leader with 3,527 from 2014-17. Iowa's Caitlin Clark, active and currently second, needs 104 points to pass Plum for the top spot.
Georgia Woolley had eight points, Fair scored seven and Syracuse hit nine of its first 10 shots to take a 21-14 lead after one quarter.
Nina Rickards had the first two baskets in a 10-0 run to begin the second period and Louisville moved in front and never trailed again. Fair moved into fifth place with a layup at the 3:45 mark to get the Orange within two. Fair added 1 of 2 free throws, but Sydney Taylor answered with back-to-back 3-pointers and the Cardinals took a 40-34 lead into halftime.
Jefferson had the first four points of the third quarter and Harris sank a jumper with one second left, giving the Cardinals a 60-47 advantage at the end of the period.
Louisville did not score in the first 3:42 of the fourth, but the Orange managed only a 3-pointer by Fair and never got closer than 10.
Rickards finished with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting for Louisville. Taylor hit all three of the Cardinals' 3-pointers, scoring 13 with five rebounds and four assists.
Woolley had 15 points for Syracuse and Alaina Rice scored 14. The Orange made just 16 of 59 shots (27.1%) after their hot start.
The Cardinals lead the all-time series 20-7, winning eight straight and 12 of the last 13. The Orange are 1-12 in Louisville.
Syracuse stays on the road to play Boston College on Sunday. Louisville travels to play fifth-ranked North Carolina State on Monday.
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