No. 21/22 Syracuse Defeats Penn State, 61-39

Thursday, December 4

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Syracuse University

6-1

Penn State

1-6

Penn State

Syracuse

12/4/2014 9:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

63rd consecutive non-conference home victory

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 21/22 Syracuse University women's basketball team cruised to its 63rd consecutive non-conference home victory with a 61-39 win against Penn State on Thursday night in the Carrier Dome. It marked the team's second straight win by at least 22 points.

"It's good to be at this point of the season, 6-1," head coach Quentin Hillsman. "Obviously you want to be 7-0 at this point, but I thought that we've started off the season really well. We try to split our season into little mini seasons and trying to take care of our business, doing them steps at a time. During this time, our team has gotten some great experience. We have players off of the bench getting some quality minutes. Right now, we think that we are at a good place."

In its second-ever ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Syracuse (6-1) took on defending Big Ten regular season champion Penn State (1-6). After losing at Iowa in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in 2013, the Orange defeated the Lady Lions for its first win in the event.

Sophomore center Briana Day paced the team with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Day matched her career-best six boards. It marked her fourth double-double of the year and seventh of her collegiate career. Junior guard Cornelia Fondren recorded her first double-double of her collegiate career, tallying 10 points and 10 boards.

It marked the first time since the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament that two members of the team recorded double-doubles. Brianna Butler and Brittney Sykes each had double-doubles against Chattanooga on March 22, 2014.

In the opening minutes of the game, the game went back and forth as the teams exchanged leads four times. Trailing 11-10 with 13:47 remaining in the first half, Syracuse went on a 21-5 run to take a 31-15 lead with 4:17 left. Briana Day had nine points during that stretch, while Butler tallied eight.

For the seventh time in 2014-15, the squad led at the half. Syracuse led 35-19 against Penn State after the first 20 minutes of play. Day led the Orange with 13 points in the opening frame. Butler recorded 11 points. It marked the fifth straight game Butler had scored in double-figures. She finished with 14 points on the night.

In the second half, Syracuse led by as much as 22 points when it was ahead 49-27 with 10:11 remaining in regulation. Penn State would cut the Orange lead to 14 points with 7:30 left, but that would be the closest it would get as the club cruised to a 22-point victory.

The Syracuse women's basketball team will be off for the next 10 days before hosting N.C. State on Sunday, Dec. 14. Game time is set for 12 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.