JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Taking on No. 23/22 Syracuse at Swisher Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon, the Jacksonville University women's basketball team erased a 32-point deficit late in the second half but dropped the contest by a score of 77-61.

Junior Loliya Briggs led the way for the Dolphins with 13 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 performance at the line. Sophomore Briona Brown put up 11 points with three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals, while sophomore Sherranda Reddick added 10 points.

Coming off the bench for 10 points in 15 minutes of action, freshman Kayla Gordon posted her first collegiate contest with a double-figure scoring effort. She also led Jacksonville (1-3) in rebounding with six boards.

After Syracuse opened the contest with an 8-0 run, the Dolphins pieced together a scoring spree to take a 13-11 lead with 14:03 on the clock. The advantage, JU's sole lead of the game, was quickly erased on the next possession on an Orange three pointer, their first of 11, and Syracuse went on to take a 43-21 edge at halftime.

"We challenged them coming out of the locker room at halftime," Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. "In the first half, I didn't know that [JU] team and I didn't want them to show that type of team to the great crowd that we had. We stopped believing for a second but it was a great opportunity for us to grow. I just challenged them in the second half to show the team that we want to be and where we are trying to go, and that is what we were able to do in the second half."

'Cuse opened up a 32-point lead with 6:32 remaining but the Dolphins stayed tough down the stretch, working a 15-3 run to close the game.

Next, Jacksonville visits UCF for a 7 p.m. contest on Tuesday, Nov. 25.