SYRACUSE, N.Y. – ACC-leading Syracuse (10-1) stretched an 11-point halftime lead and defeated visiting Binghamton women's basketball (6-4) 72-54 Tuesday night at JMA Wireless Dome.

The Bearcats started strong against an Orange team that sits No. 39 in the country in the NCAA NET Rankings. Binghamton recorded a block, took a charge, forced three turnovers and limited Syracuse to a 1-for-5 start from the field in the game's first four minutes. Five different Bearcats contributed points in the opening 10 minutes and there were three ties and four lead changes.

Syracuse asserted itself in the second quarter with an 18-3 run that gave the hosts a 17-point cushion. But junior guard Bella Pucci led an 11-0 charge late in the quarter – a run that spanned just 1:23 but brought the Bearcats to within six, 33-27. Pucci scored eight points in a 52-second span on a 3-point play, 3-pointer and jumper. The Orange scored six of the final seven points of the half to take a 39-28 lead into intermission.

In the third quarter, SU showed its frontcourt size that ranks second in the nation in offensive rebounds. Despite making just 4-of-16 to start, the Orange grabbed 19 boards and extended its lead.

The Bearcats held Syracuse to just 30 shooting in the second half and finished by outscoring the Orange 19-15 in the final quarter.   

"I liked our fight tonight," head coach Mary Grimes said. "Syracuse will be a top echelon team in the ACC and it was a competitive game. We played hard for 40 minutes and while we gave them a lot of respect, we didn't fear them."

Pucci wound up with a team-high 11 points – her ninth double-digit outing of the season. Junior guard Leah Middleton joined Pucci in double figures with 10 points. Junior forward Kendall Bennett added nine points and six rebounds and junior guard Yanniah Boyd filled the box score with a team-high seven boards, six points, three steals and a block.

Binghamton next hosts Colgate Saturday afternoon at the Events Center.