Brianna Butler watched Taylor Ford catch a pass. As Ford got her feet set, Butler extended her arm and raised three fingers high in the air. She’d seen the first four 3-pointers Ford take swish effortlessly through the net. She knew that her fifth make was on its way.

And Butler kept her hand right where it was even after her confident expectation proved to be right. She ran down the court with Ford, the Orange holding a 10-point lead with 11:32 left to play.

“I basically know everything about Taylor, especially on the court,” Butler said. “Today, when I see her go off, I just know the feeling she was going to make that next 3. I had to celebrate early for her.”

Ford’s 15 points were the highest mark she’s had in all of conference play. In a season where Ford has seen her minutes — and scoring — slashed nearly in half, the senior waited until her final Carrier Dome appearance to put on her best performance in SU’s best win of the season. Each of her shots created more separation in No. 23 Syracuse’s (21-6, 11-3 Atlantic Coast) 83-73 win over No. 10 Florida State (21-5, 11-2).

Ford had been averaging just 2.3 points in SU’s last eight games and hadn’t scored in double-figures since Dec. 9 against Coppin State. She made up for it on Thursday.

“I think instead of my sentimental emotions, my aggressive emotions came out, and I was knocking down 3s,” Ford said. “Once I hit the first one, I was really, really confident.”

Ford hit her first three from the right wing off a Butler pass with just over a minute left in the first quarter. Then, just four seconds into the second quarter, she connected again. But when the Seminoles inched back before halftime, slicing a 13-point SU lead down to three, it was Ford that created separation in the third.

She scored nine of SU’s 18 points in the quarter. The first was to turn a seven-point lead into 10. The next turned a 12-point lead into 15. But when FSU again brought it down to seven, Ford swished in another. Aside from a 2-0 advantage, FSU never led, and the senior forward made sure it stayed that way.

“If she takes open shots, and she’s shooting the ball with confidence…she’s a very good basketball player,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “I’m never surprised when she comes out and has a very good game.”

Ford told teammates before the game that she thought she would cry. But as she reflected on her performance well after the final buzzer, those tears had yet to come.

On the season, Ford had shot just 29.4 percent from the field and only 20 percent from behind the arc. She’s always been a player that Hillsman admittedly is hard on. On Thursday, he gave her credit almost immediately after sitting down at the press table. After the game, all her teammates were jumping on her.

It was a night to commemorate the seniors, and Ford waited all year to celebrate in grand fashion.

Said Ford: “I’ll probably cry when I get home.”

Published on February 18, 2016 at 10:48 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3