With Houston and Indianapolis only a few days away, the Syracuse community had a chance to cheer on their teams.
Syracuse marked a historic season for their men’s and women’s basketball teams by holding a pep rally at Manley Field House on Wednesday afternoon.
The event helped celebrate both teams advancing to the Final Four for the first time in school history, and just the 13th time in NCAA history a school has pulled off the feat.
Syracuse fans young and old packed the bleachers in Manley to see the teams off. Both Jim Boeheim and Quentin Hillsman joined their players onstage to show their appreciation.
This was Coach Quentin Hillsman's 250 win for Syracuse.
After a slow first half, the Orange turned it on in the final two periods to beat Drexel 72-62.
Syracuse (10-0) struggled in the first two quarters of play against the Dragons (6-4). Megan Marecic was on fire for Drexel in the first half, scoring 15 points on five 3-pointers.
Aside from scoring, the Dragons limited their turnover count to 12 in the first half against the tough full-court press of the Orange. Coach Quentin Hillsman attributed the Dragons’ discipline to good coaching.
SU is one of three undefeated ACC schools so far this season.
Following a tight overtime win over Stony Brook on Sunday, the Orange left no doubt of a win on Wednesday.
Syracuse (9-0) got an early lead over Colgate (4-5) and never looked back, winning 79-39. While the Orange lit up the scoreboard, it was the defensive effort that got the attention of head coach Quentin Hillsman.
Gallery: Syracuse is one of five schools to have both basketball programs undefeated after November.
In a back and forth contest that showed no clear advantage for a majority of the game, Syracuse women’s basketball ultimately defended its home court and won 81-74 over Northwestern in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Backcourt duo led SU to a 22-8 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016-17.
Syracuse guards Brittney Sykes and Alexis Peterson were both selected in the WNBA draft on Thursday night. The pair started all 33 games in the Orange backcourt last season and combined to average 42.6 points per contest.
Four Orange players reach double-figures in 85-64 victory over the Demon Deacons.
The seniors stole the show scoring 65 points as the Syracuse women’s basketball team (19-9, 10-5 ACC) won 85-64 over Wake Forest (15-13, 6-9 in ACC) in its final home game of the season.
Four of the six seniors started the game and the scored the first 40 Syracuse points of the game until Gabrielle Cooper finished a put back to end the second quarter.
Orange extends its winning streak to three with victory over Panthers at the Carrier Dome.
Led by a career-high 31 points from Briana Day, the Syracuse women’s basketball team (16-7, 6-3 in ACC) beat Pittsburgh (12-10, 3-5 in ACC) 93-65 on Thursday night in the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse entered the game on a two-game win streak, most recently winning at Virginia Tech, 82-72. Undefeated so far at the Carrier Dome this season and on a 16-game home winning streak, their opponents had yet to win a true road game in 2016-17.
Sykes scores 29, Peterson adds 24 to lead SU past the Hurricanes, 81-48
The Syracuse women’s basketball team upended Miami in a much-needed win on Sunday with a tenacious defensive effort and relentless speed in transition offense.
After advancing to the 2016 NCAA title game, SU holds first practice of season on Sunday.
The Syracuse women’s basketball team finished 2015-16 with a 23-6 record and, against many expectations, advanced to the program’s first national championship game.
Although they ultimately fell to the dominant University of Connecticut, Syracuse gained the attention of the NCAA and fans as a force to be reckoned with for this upcoming season.
SU struggled from the field and could not overcome a balanced attack from the top-seeded Gamecocks.
For the second-straight season, Syracuse reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament thanks to a tight victory over Nebraska on Friday.
But that would once again be as far as the Orange could surge.
Despite hanging with South Carolina earlier in the season, SU fell behind early and never recovered in a 97-68 drubbing at the hands of the top-seeded Gamecocks. The Orange finishes the 2014-15 season with an overall record of 22-10.