The Orange took a double-digit lead but allowed the lead to get down to six in the second half before pulling away once again.
The Syracuse University women's basketball team is moving onto the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament after defeating No. 8 Iowa State 72-63 on Saturday night in Storrs, Conn.
For the No. 9 Orange, they'll get a date with No. 1 UConn on Monday. The Huskies throttled No. 16 Texas San-Antonio 90-52 before the Orange took the floor.
Here's what you need to know about the Orange, who improved to 24-8 on the campaign.
Schmitt steps up
Seeing increased minutes because of the season-ending injury to point guard Dominique Darius, Olivia Schmitt had a career-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting. She was 5-of-9 from three-point range, scoring all her points in the first half. She played 31 minutes, also dishing out five assists and pulling down three rebounds.
Inside the numbers
--The Orange shot 41 percent from the floor (28-of-68) and 36 percent from three-point range (9-of-25). Iowa State was 39 percent from the floor but just 3-of-22 (14 percent) from three.
--In addition to Schmitt, Syracuse got big games from ACC Rookie of the Year Uche Izoje (23 points), Laila Phelia (18 points) and Sophie Burrows (14). Burrows was just 3-of-15 but was 6-of-6 at the foul line.
--Multi-time All-American Audi Crooks had a game-high 37 for Iowa State, going 17-of-25 from the field. An unstoppable force, she also had five rebounds.
--Syracuse committed just nine turnovers against 15 assists.
--Syracuse utilized a 30-point second quarter to take a 14-point halftime lead. ISU won the second half by six.
What else worked well
If you're going to win in March, your stars have to play like stars, and Syracuse's stars did that. Izoje went 11-of-19 from the floor, also securing seven rebounds and registering a block.
Schmitt's contributions were much-needed, and March victories often come with unsung heroes.
Needs improvement
If Syracuse is going to pull the upset over No. 1 UConn on Monday, they'll need to shoot better than 36 percent from three, and they'll need to attempt more than 10 free-throws (7-of-10).
Need to know
Connecticut is now 35-0 on the campaign and the winners of 51 straight games. The Huskies are the defending national champions and the heavy favorites to win once again. Sarah Strong is the likely Player of the Year and Azzi Fudd is one of the best shooters in America.
UConn has knocked out Syracuse in three recent NCAA Tournaments: 2016, 2021 and 2024. The 2016 elimination came in the national championship game, which is the only time Syracuse has advanced to the title game.
Monday's game is at 6 p.m. ET.
Join the Conversation
Remember to join our SYRACUSE on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Orange fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!