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UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Maty Wilke caught a pass and immediately rose up to hit the second of a back-to-back stretch of 3-pointers from the senior guard at Utah.
The shot gave Utah its largest lead, 23-16, of the afternoon against an undefeated Syracuse team as part of the women's basketball Hall of Fame Showcase in Connecticut, and gave Wilke a quick 10 points in a mostly defensive game.
Utah carried the advantage through the halftime break before Syracuse answered the call with a 21-14 scoring effort in the third quarter to take a lead for the first time since the beginning of the game.
It was enough for the Orange, who carried that third-quarter effort to the fourth, where Syracuse pulled away from Utah for a 61-49 win and to maintain an undefeated streak on the young season.
Syracuse (5-0) shot just 21% from the field in the first half, but found a rhythm in the second half (46%) to overwhelm a Utah (3-2) team that was sped up, lacked the same defensive intensity, and couldn't find its shot.
As such, Syracuse built up a 9-point lead with just under six minutes left to play and then caught a break when Utah forward Chyra Evans was whistled for her fifth and final foul. It was the crack that broke the dam as the Orange ballooned its lead to double digits.
Syracuse had three players finish in double-digit scoring, with Dominique Darius leading the charge with 16 points — 14 in the second half — 10 rebounds and three assists in the win. She was joined in scoring by Laila Phelia's 14 points and Uche Izoje's 10 points and nine rebounds.
One of the big deciders for the Orange on the afternoon, though, was its massive advantage on the glass, where Syracuse outrebounded Utah 49-31, and 24-6 on offensive rebounds.
In the first half, Syracuse couldn't convert on second-chance (and third and fourth) opportunities, but those flipped the other way in the second to overwhelm Utah.
Wilke finished the game with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while Evans added 13 points — 8 of which came in the first half — and five rebounds before fouling out.
