Sipaviciute Has Record-Breaking Night as Orange Routs Colgate, 92-56

Tuesday, November 29

Manley Field House

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Colgate

Vaida Sipaviciute scored 41 points to establish a new single-game scoring standard at SU.

Sipaviciute Has Record-Breaking Night as Orange Routs Colgate, 92-56

11/29/2005 10:11:50 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score
Coach Cieplicki Quotes
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Sophomore Vaida Sipaviciute (Kaunas, Lithuania) established a new single-game scoring record at SU with 41 points, while grabbing a career-high 21 rebounds to lead the Orange (3-2) to a 92-56 win against Colgate (1-4) on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at Manley Field House.

Sipaviciute’s 21 boards is the second most in a single game in SU history, three off of Sue Scholl who corralled 24 in 1978. Sipaviciute went 16-for-25 from the floor, eclipsing her previous mark of 10 field goals made and tying for second place on the single-game SU field goals made ledger. She is the first player in Orange history to eclipse the 30-point, 20-rebound mark in a single game.

The Orange’s 92 points is the most scored in the Coach Keith Cieplicki era, and the most since SU scored 93 against West Virginia on Feb. 3, 2001. The 36-point margin of victory is the most since that same game, when the Orange beat the Mountaineers by 39.

Freshman Jenny Eckhart (Libertyville, Ill.) added 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. She matched her personal best with four 3-pointers, while also dishing out six assists. Freshman guard Cintia Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y.) set career highs with eight assists and eight rebounds. Freshman Lina Lisnere (Riga, Latvia) started her first career game after missing SU’s first four contests with an injury. She added seven points and nine rebounds. The Orange shot 51.5 percent from the field while holding the Raiders to 28.4 percent.

Colgate jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead on a pair of 3-pointers by Gretchen Polinski and Meghan Curtin. The Orange bounced back with a 6-1 scoring stretch of its own to tie the game, 7-7, at the 16:59 mark. Sipaviciute tallied all of SU’s points in that run. Eckhart drilled one of her 3-pointers to give the Orange a 10-7 edge that it never relinquished. SU increased its lead to 20 on a 27-7 run over the next eight minutes, and finished the half with a 45-31 lead.

At the 3:05 mark in the first half, Sipaviciute had 21 points, which matched the entire Colgate team’s scoring output. She finished the half with that total, which was two points off of her career high. She also brought down 13 rebounds in the first stanza, which was also two shy of her personal best. She was the first player since Rochelle Coleman in 2002 to tally 20 points in one half of play.

The Orange began the second half the way it ended the first, by scoring the first five points to push its lead to 52-31. SU continued to extend its lead throughout the half, and led by as much as 40, 85-45, with six minutes to play.

With 39 points, Sipaviciute was fouled and went to the line for a pair of free throws with 5:04 left in the game. She netted both attempts, and was replaced, leaving the floor to a standing ovation from the Syracuse faithful.

The Orange pulled down a season-best 55 rebounds, the most since a 61-rebound effort against Akron in the 2000-01 Carrier Classic.

Melanie Cargle paced the Raiders with 13 points and Caitlin Gillard scored 10 and pulled down six rebounds.

SU takes to the road for its next two contests. On Sunday, Dec. 4, the Orange travels to Canisius for a 4:00 p.m. tip off. Then, on Thursday, Dec. 8, SU opens its BIG EAST slate with a trip to Pittsburgh for a 7:00 p.m. showdown.