With an eight-inch height differential, North Carolina State’s Miah Spencer proved no match for Syracuse center Briana Day.

As SU forward Taylor Ford was guarded by Wolfpack center Carlee Schuhmacher at the right elbow, the 6-foot-4 Day found herself alone underneath the basket, caught a pass from Ford and banked in a layup while being fouled by the 5-foot-8 Spencer.

After the play, SU reserve center Bria Day, Briana’s twin sister, turned to SU graduate assistant Kathleen Moroney on the bench. The assistant flipped through a pile of stat sheets and said to Bria Day, “Three more blocks for a triple-double.”

Though that feat never came to fruition, Briana Day clogged the stat sheet on Sunday in SU’s matchup with N.C. State. The center finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks, and aided the No. 23 Orange (15-5, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) in its 66-49 victory over the Wolfpack (12-8, 3-4).

“Briana Day was a beast down there,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “Anything in that paint, she went and she got it.

“She had a big girl game.”

In a 33-second sequence at the midway point of the first half, Day swiped a steal from Schuhmacher. Seconds later, Day blocked a 3-point attempt from Wolfpack guard Ashley Williams.

SU went to Day on its first two possessions of the second half, the second resulting in a layup from underneath the basket on a feed from Isabella Slim that ended a nine and a half minute stretch for SU without a field goal.

“She’s a lot quicker, so if we can take advantage of her matchup as well as our guard matchups, we’ll be a better team,” said SU point guard Alexis Peterson. “I wanted to feed her, get her going early, and get her some looks inside.”

Five minutes later, Day spun to her left hand and laid in a scoop layup while being fouled. She was poked in the right eye by Schuhmacher, and had to take a moment with the help of a trainer to readjust her contact lens.

After the game, Hillsman said SU’s offense did a good job of recognizing when the N.C. State defense spread the floor and created room for Day to maneuver in the paint. On defense, the head coach said Day allowed SU to “scramble and to go get traps.”

Hillsman said Day’s performance reminded him of one that would come from Kayla Alexander, the program’s leading scorer and a WNBA first-round draft pick.

“When teams broke us down, Kayla was there to block shots, and Briana Day is there to block shots,” Hillsman said. “I really believe that Briana is a little more athletic than Kayla in her movements, but I guess I shouldn’t say that about a 2,000-point scorer.”

Day said she knew how well she was playing as the game went on. In an SU huddle after a Brianna Butler made 3-pointer, the normally stoic Day let out a brief smile.

It was an emotion enabled by an all-around dominant performance, and one that her teammates had a sense of early on.

“When I notice that she has a lot of rebounds, I try to tip it to her,” Ford said. “I’m always trying to help her out. When I feel like my teammates are playing good, keep rewarding them … If Briana has 16 rebounds and 7 blocks, why not let her get more?”

Published on January 25, 2015 at 7:42 pm

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu