Syracuse women’s basketball adds Penn State to non-conference schedule

The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team (1-0) will play Penn State on December 6 for a non-conference contest. As announced on Wednesday, the No. 22 Orange will host the Nittany Lions on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET in the Carrier Dome.

Penn State currently holds a 2-0 season with victories over Coppin State and St. Francis (Pa.).

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The game will mark the 20th meeting between the two teams in program history. Penn State leads the overall series 16-3, but ‘Cuse has won two of the last three match-ups. The two teams last met in 2014, where the Orange defeated the Nittany Lions 61-39 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

In other recent Syracuse women’s basketball news, Tiana Mangakahia was named to the NCAA.com’s Starting Five, which highlights the top players in the country for that week.

Graduate student Tiana Mangakahia celebrated her return to the court for the first time since her cancer diagnosis to lead Syracuse to a 50-39 victory at Stony Brook on Sunday, the Orange’s 14th consecutive season-opening victory. The point guard led all scorers with 16 points and had seven rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block. Mangakahia and senior Kiara Lewis accounted for 24 of Syracuse’s 50 points in a game that Syracuse led for all 40 minutes. The Orange opened up a 10-2 lead five minutes into the game and held a 13-7 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Mangakahia scored seven points in the early run. Syracuse’s 50 points marks the fewest points in a victory since a 45-42 Orange win against Villanova in 2005. An honorable mention Associated Press All-America player following her junior season in 2018-19, Mangakahia was diagnosed with breast cancer on June 18, 2019, underwent a successful double mastectomy on Nov. 6 and sat out the entire 2019-20 season. The Orange will next host Lincoln in the 2020-21 home opener on Dec. 2.

SU will face DII Lincoln tonight and the Nittany Lions will battle Rhode Island tomorrow before Sunday’s meeting. The game will be televised on ACC Network with Debbie Antonelli and Jenn Hildreth on the call.