There was a time when Syracuse didn’t have a player it could rely on to sacrifice their body for the team and take charges “back-to-back-to-back,” Brittney Sykes said.

But after Briana Day took four charges and forced countless turnovers in the first half of Monday’s 102-65 victory over Siena (0-1) in the Carrier Dome, Sykes said she can count on the fact that the No. 14 Orange (2-0) now has that player. Day totaled 19 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes as SU cruised to its second win of the year.

Day’s discipline at the base of Syracuse’s defense was the catalyst in SU’s stretched 2-3 zone, leading to dozens of points from transition baskets. The 6-foot-4 center proved she doesn’t have to block shots to be effective on the defensive end.

Early in the second quarter Monday, with the score still tight between the two sides Kollyns Scarbrough sliced through a hole in the zone dribbling into the wide open front court. With Day as the last line of defense in the barren Orange paint, Scarbrough rose for a right-handed layup, muscling into Day in an attempt to draw a foul.

It seemed a block attempt was imminent, but Day stood steady. An “ooh” collectively shot through the Orange as Scarbrough’s knee made contact with Day’s chest, sending the center to the hardwood with a thud. But as the referee stuck her hand behind her head and pointed the other direction, Day shot up, pounding her chest as the Orange bench rose and screamed.

“She has come a long way from trying to block every shot to now taking charges,” Sykes said. “That takes a lot, that’s a sacrifice of your body for your team.”

Scarbrough’s aggressive charge was the fourth that Day took in Monday’s game, and another turnover on a night when the Orange forced 33 total. The turnovers kept the ball in the hands of the Orange offense — an offense which saw six players in double digits, and scored over 100 points for the first time since 2013.

Limited to just one substitute at center with Bria Day sidelined with a shoulder injury, Briana said she knew it would be better to spend her time “on the floor taking charges,” rather than on the bench in foul trouble.

Nearly every time a Saints drive found its way into the paint, Day stepped up and made her presence known.

She always induced contact with the Siena attacker, at times drawing the charge, and at other times giving just enough of a nudge to keep the shot away from the bucket. If the ball rolled off the rim, Day boxed out and fired it up court to the streaking Orange offense.

Day said that she is content taking charges over blocked shots, because it takes the ball away from the offense, and adds another foul on the books. She finished the game with just one block, but was able to score 19 points on offense thanks to an entire game free of foul trouble.

Seeing near-full minutes and averaging 17.5 points is a new concept for the 6-foot-4 center, who has long lived with the persona as a block-first type of defender throughout her career, a persona which, at times, has led to negative repercussions. Day fouled out of five games last season, and has nine foul-outs in her SU career.

“We’ve got a shot-blocker back there and someone to take the charge, that’s kind of a frightening thing,” Hillsman said. “We talk about keeping her on the floor, 80 percent of the time a charge is better than a blocked shot.”

Sykes said she’s glad to have Day holding up the back of the defense and giving the other players the sense of security they need to pressure opponents and score a lot of points. Especially with how thin the center position will be until Bria returns — a return which Hillsman declined to put a timetable on — Sykes said the Orange will take, and appreciate, everything it can get from Briana in these early games of the season.

“That just takes commitment, and we love her for that,” Sykes said. “We enjoy when Bri goes down, and is able to take those hits for the team.”

Published on November 14, 2016 at 11:38 pm

Contact Matt: mjfel100@syr.edu