SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Perhaps it's not the most unlikely national semifinal one could have envisioned in this year's NCAA women's tournament. But in the realm of actual believability, it's pretty close.
Syracuse consolidated its big upset over South Carolina on Friday by taking down another SEC team Sunday in Tennessee, 89-67. And with that, the Orange earned a trip to the Women's Final Four. Syracuse is the first team from the state of New York to advance that far; there were seven Empire State teams in the field this year.
No. 4 seed Syracuse will meet another Final Four first-timer, No. 7 seed Washington, which knocked off Stanford earlier in the day.
And if your bracket had Syracuse and Washington going to Indianapolis, congratulations, you're psychic. The thing is, as unexpected as this is, to actually watch Syracuse and Washington play so far in this tournament, you realize this isn't a fluke. The Orange and Huskies really are playing that well, and both deserve to be where they are.
The Lady Vols were kind of the walking wounded Sunday, with starting guard Jordan Reynolds out with a concussion she suffered in Friday's victory over Ohio State, and both Bashaara Graves and Andraya Carter playing with hand injuries that required their fingers to be taped.
But even a completely healthy Lady Vols team might not have been able to stop the offensive barrage of Syracuse, which hit big shot after big shot, just as the Orange did in knocking off the No. 1 seed Gamecocks.
Syracuse shot 46.4 percent from the field, including making 14-of-30 3-pointers, the most by any team in this year's tournament.
How the game was won: The Lady Vols had to work much harder to get their points against the Syracuse zone than the Orange had to work to get good looks against Tennessee. Syracuse scored with dribble penetration and its sharpshooters from the outside. Tennessee finished 25-of-61 from the field (39.3 percent), hitting 6 of 22 3-pointers.
Player of the game: Regional most valuable player Alexis Peterson was the star of both Syracuse games here, and at times looked like she had a whole other gear than anyone trying to guard her. She had 29 points, six assists and four rebounds against Tennessee. That followed her 26 points, three assists and four rebounds against South Carolina. When the buzzer sounded Sunday, she fell to her knees, overcome with emotion.
Turning point: Te'a Cooper hit a 3-pointer with 9:26 left in the game, cutting Syracuse's lead to 63-59. But then Brianna Butler answered with consecutive 3s from the top of the key, rebuilding Syracuse's lead to double digits, 69-59. Tennessee was not able to make a run again. Butler finished with 18 points, coming on season-high six 3-pointers.
X factor: Syracuse almost completely neutralized Tennessee center Mercedes Russell, who had 25 points in the semifinal against Ohio State. Against Syracuse, she had just seven points on 3-of-5 shooting in 31 minutes. That was in contrast to how dominant the Tennessee interior was when the teams played in November. Tennessee outscored Syracuse 46-18 in that Lady Vols victory.
Stat of the game: Tennessee had 21 turnovers, and Syracuse scored 25 points off of them. As difficult as it was for the Lady Vols to execute their offense against Syracuse, the turnover problem and the points it gave Syracuse was just a killer.
What's next: No. 4 seed Syracuse, 29-7, will face No. 7 Washington in the national semifinals in Indianapolis on April 3. The teams met Nov. 27, with Syracuse winning 66-62. Tennessee's season ended at 22-14.