Women's Basketball

Brittney Sykes’ 31 points lead Syracuse women’s basketball to 82-72 victory at No. 19 Virginia Tech

Jeff Anderson | Staff Photographer

Brittney Sykes scored 31 points to lead the Orange to a victory over Virginia Tech.

Brittney Sykes matched a career-high 31 points, Alexis Peterson added 22 and Briana Day became the first-ever SU player to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds Sunday afternoon in Syracuse’s 82-72 victory at No. 19 Virginia Tech.

SU has now won six of its last eight games and two straight against Top 20 teams. Sunday’s win also marks SU’s fourth against a nationally ranked opponent this season, setting a program regular-season record.

“They just really played gutsy,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “When you win games on the road, that’s about grinding and playing hard.”

The Orange entered Sunday having lost four of its last five away from the Carrier Dome. It had struggled against conference opponents, getting outscored to Florida State, Louisville and Georgia Tech by a combined 43 points. Sunday in Blacksburg, Virginia, SU scored 82 points a week after routing then-No. 14 Miami, 81-48 at home.

Peterson and Sykes, the nation’s top-scoring backcourt, combined for 33 of SU’s 49 points in the first half. Sykes finished with 31 points on three 3-pointers and 12-of-17 shooting from the field. She chipped in three steals.



“She was just aggressive in attacking,” Hillsman said. “She played downhill, she played at the rim.”

Peterson shot only 6-of-18 and committed seven turnovers, but dished out 11 assists and scored 22 points. Day, Syracuse’s senior center, scored 21 points, blocked four shots and grabbed 11 rebounds to become the program’s all-time leading rebounder with 1,005 career boards. For the third time this year Sykes, Peterson and Day each had at least 20 points.

“If she stays in and plays her game, we’re going to be OK,” Hillsman said. “That was the biggest thing in the game: Keeping her on the floor.”

The Orange shot 7-for-16 from 3-point range, a 43.8 percent clip, and hit 15-of-17 free-throw attempts. The Hokies trailed by 16 at the half and pulled within six at the 2:46 mark before Syracuse finished the game on an 11-2 run to seal the victory.

Syracuse looks to continue its 16-game home winning streak when it returns home Thursday for a matchup with Pittsburgh (12-9, 3-5) at 7 p.m.





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