Despite being a freshman, Brianna Butler has not been afraid to launch the 3-point shot this season. Heading into Saturday’s game against Binghamton, she had taken 47 3-pointers, making 13.

Against the Bearcats, all eight of Butler’s field-goal attempts came from beyond the arc. She made four.

“Obviously, Brianna Butler is a great shooter for us,” head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “She has to make open shots, and she did tonight.”

Behind Butler’s 12-point effort and a balanced offensive attack, the Orange outlasted the Bearcats 68-45 to move to 10-1 on the season. Binghamton struggled from the field, shooting at a 28.6 percent clip (16-for-56), and SU got the win after a week of rest from game action.

Despite suffering through a tough early season that has seen only one win in 11 games, the Bearcats hung with SU early.  Binghamton pulled to within 20-17 on a 3-point shot by Stephanie Jensen with 5:30 remaining in the first half.

But from there, the Orange defense tightened, holding Binghamton scoreless for the remainder of the half. SU closed the half on a 10-0 run, capped off by a Pachis Roberts 3 with 23 seconds left. Elashier Hall opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer that put SU up 33-17, and Binghamton would not get within 14 points the rest of the way.

The Orange defense held up despite limited minutes from star senior center Kayla Alexander, who was held to 18 minutes due to two early fouls. Alexander’s foul trouble led to extended action for Shakeya Leary and Taylor Ford, who played 15 and eight minutes respectively.

The two combined for 11 rebounds and played an important role in limiting Binghamton’s second-chance opportunities, Alexander said.

“No matter what happens, I know we have so many other players like Keya and Taylor who have no problem (stepping in),” Alexander said. “(They) can usually come in, step in, just do their thing and help the team to be successful.”

Four Orange players scored in double figures, with Hall leading the way with 14. Alexander continued her reliable pace with 12 points, five rebounds and four blocks, and has scored in double figures in all 11 SU games this season – while accumulating 44 blocks.

Syracuse has strived to maintain a deep rotation and spread meaningful minutes across the lineup throughout the season. The Orange did it again on Saturday, 13 players seeing playing time, and nine of them racking up double-figure minutes.

“To have four players in double figures tonight is really, really big for us,” Hillsman said. “That’s all we want, is balance. We want to have balance on the floor, balanced scoring, a balance of rebounding. I thought that overall, we had that.”

If SU had shot a little better (the Orange went 20-for-63 from the field, a 31.7 percent clip), the margin of victory could have been even greater. Hall went just 4-for 12 despite leading the team in scoring, and senior guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas (0-for-5) was held scoreless for the first time all season.

SU will try for its 11^th win of the season on Friday, Dec. 21, when it takes on Washington State at the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m.

Any win is a good win, especially at the end of exam week, Hillsman said.

“Coming off exams is tough,” Hillsman said. “We knew going into this game that it would be tough getting going. But obviously, we played well enough to win.”

Published on December 15, 2012 at 6:54 pm

Contact Kevin: kmprisei@syr.edu