Syracuse women’s basketball moves up two spots to No. 20 in AP Poll

The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team (3-0) has improved two spots in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. ‘Cuse stands at No. 20 in the rankings after defeating Penn State and Lincoln by double-digits last week. The Orange received 169 points in the poll.

Two other Atlantic Coast Conference schools are ranked, including No. 2 Louisville (4-0) and No. 4 NC State (4-0). North Carolina (38), Notre Dame (8), Wake Forest (5), Boston College (4), and Virginia Tech (2) also received votes this week.

On Sunday, Syracuse defeated Penn State in the Carrier Dome to improve to 3-0 on the season, 82-72. It was a back and forth battle between the two teams, as the lead changed nine times during the contest. Syracuse scored 24 points off 24 Penn State turnovers, compared to the Lion’s 13 points off 17 Orange turnovers.

Kiara Lewis dominated the court with a season-high 26 points and five steals. Tiana Mangakahia (14), Digna Strautmane (14) and Amaya Finklea-Guity (10) joined Lewis in double-figures. Mangakahia also added eight assists and six rebounds despite nine turnovers. Strautmane tallied eight rebounds, four blocks, and three steals in addition to Finklea-Guity’s nine rebounds.

Syracuse will travel to Miami (3-0) Thursday for their Atlantic Coast Conference opener at 8 p.m. ET.