Syracuse Women's Basketball: Redshirt Junior Brittney Sykes Will Return Next Season

The Syracuse Orange women's basketball program has some big shoes to fill next year. It's own. Losing Brianna Butler, Cornelia Fondren, and Maggie Morrison robs the Orange of big-time shooting and key experience, but we knew that with guard Alexis Peterson returning we'd be in good hands. That's even more of a sure thing now that we've learned redshirt junior Brittney Sykes will return for her final season eligibility as well.

"I am excited for what the future holds," said Sykes. "I am already working on getting stronger for the 2016-17 season."

Following two season-ending injuries in 10 months, Sykes missed all but three games during the 2014-15 campaign and was granted a medical redshirt. The Newark, N.J. native has already earned her bachelor's degree in communication and rhetorical studies and will continue to pursue her master's degree in instructional design, development, and evaluation.

Sykes has scored 1,214 points in 105 games in her Syracuse career, good for fifteenth overall. She was third in scoring on the squad this year with 10.3 points per game and third in rebounds with 5.1. In the NCAA Tournament, she really stepped up, scoring in double-digits in all but one game, including a 24-point performance against Albany in the second round. She scored 17 and grabbed nine boards in SU's huge win over South Carolina.

Syracuse's highly-successful team will return four starters and should be in prime position for a solid preseason ranking and big expectations.