Syracuse Hosts Mercyhurst for School Day Friday

The Orange (10-1) will look to extend their five-game winning streak and improve to 9-0 at home when they face the Lakers (0-10, 0-0 NEC) at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Dec. 19. Over 8,500 students from the greater Syracuse area are expected to pack the Dome, as SU is chasing the school day attendance record of 9,109 set in 2023.

Syracuse enters as one of just 35 teams in the country with at least 10 wins and boasts the ACC's longest current winning streak. Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack's squad is coming off a 72-54 victory over Binghamton, dominating in the paint (42-28) and on the offensive glass with 26 second-chance points and 55 total rebounds.

The Orange feature three players averaging double figures, led by senior guard Laila Phelia (12.9 ppg), graduate student Dominique Darius (12.5 ppg), and freshman sensation Uche Izoje (12.3 ppg). Phelia, the team's leading scorer in her first season at SU, has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games. Darius recently recorded a career-high 10 assists against Colgate while adding five steals and led SU in scoring with 17 points against Binghamton.

One of the most exciting storylines this season is Syracuse's Izoje, a 6-foot-3 center from Nigeria who spent three seasons playing professionally in Japan before joining the Orange this summer. The freshman phenom leads the ACC and ranks sixth nationally in blocks per game (2.9) while posting three double-doubles, most recently with 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds against Binghamton. She's twice been named the ACC Rookie of the Week, the first SU freshman to do so since Kamilla Cardoso in 2020.

Syracuse ranks second in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (19.3) and is one of just four teams averaging over 18.0 offensive rebounds and 5.5 blocks per game. A victory would improve the Orange to 11-1, tying the best start of the Legette-Jack era, and mark the program's first-ever win over Mercyhurst in this first meeting between the two programs.

Fans unable to make the early tipoff can watch live on ACCNX online or through the ESPN app.

For more on the Syracuse women's basketball team, follow @CuseWBB on social media.