Orange Caps Non-Conference with 74-43 Win

Tuesday, December 30

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

10-3

Central Connecticut State

4-7

CCSU

Syracuse

12/30/2014 9:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Syracuse defeats Central Connecticut State, 74-43

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 21/22 Syracuse University women's basketball team coasted to a 74-43 victory against Central Connecticut State on Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome. It marked the fifth opponent that Syracuse has held under 50 points in 2014-15.

"It's good to be at this point with our full roster," head coach Quentin Hillsman stated. "It's obviously your goal to get through your non-league schedule healthy and we did that. Our kids played great and we handled the ball well, but we turned it over too many times. I thought that our pressure was very good and thought that we got into our press and was able to force tempo. It was definitely ideal to get into our press and speed the game up."

Syracuse (10-3) completed its non-conference portion of the 2014-15 regular season on Tuesday night against Central Connecticut State (4-7). With its win, the Orange has extended its non-conference home winning streak to 69 games.

Sophomore center Briana Day was close to becoming the first Syracuse player to record a triple-double in nearly 30 years. Day finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and a personal-best seven blocked shots.

Senior guard Diamond Henderson led the squad in scoring for the fourth time this season with 15 points on the night. It marked the fourth straight contest she scored in double-figures.

The club got off to a fast start on Tuesday night against Central Connecticut State. Syracuse outscored its opponent, 13-2, in the opening 6:44 of the contest. Briana Day and sophomore guard Alexis Peterson each had four points during that stretch.

After the Blue Devils knocked down two 3-point field goals to cut the Orange lead to 15-8 with 12:52 left in the first half, the Orange combatted with a deep shot of its own. Peterson sank a 3-point field goal to once again put Syracuse ahead by double-figures. The team led by at least 10 points for the next five minutes, before CCSU would make it an eight-point game.

Central Connecticut would make it as close as a six-point contest with 2:55 to go in the opening half, but the host Orange closed the half with a 10-0 run to take a 36-20 lead into the locker room. Peterson led all scorers with 10 in the first 20 minutes of play. The Columbus, Ohio native scored in double-figures for the 11th time in 2014-15, a team-best.

It was all Syracuse in the second half. CCSU recorded the first three points of the period, cutting it to a 13-point deficit with 18:20 remaining. That would be the closest it would get, as the Orange would lead by as much as 33 points.

The Syracuse women's basketball team opens Atlantic Coast Conference play against No. 4/4 Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on RSN, check your local cable provider for listings.