# 2015–16 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team

The 2015–16 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team represented Syracuse University during the 2015–16 college basketball season. The Orange, led by ninth year head coach Quentin Hillsman, were third year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and played their home games at the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse finished its regular season with a 23–6 overall record, matching the program record for most regular season wins. The Orange earned their highest finish as a member of the ACC, with a school-record 13 conference victories, and earned a third-seed spot and first-round bye in the conference tournament. Syracuse also received an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament, and advanced to the program's first-ever championship game, before losing 82–51 to Connecticut.

## Previous season

The Orange finished the 2014–15 season 22–10, 11–5 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the second round of the ACC women's tournament to Wake Forest. They received an at-large bid of the NCAA women's tournament where they defeated Nebraska in the first round before losing to South Carolina in the second round.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 5:00 pm | No. 23 | at Rhode Island | W 57–54 | 1–0 | Ryan Center (1,196) Kingston, RI |
| 11/20/2015* 7:00 pm | No. 25 | at No. 4 Tennessee | L 55–57 | 1–1 | Thompson–Boling Arena (10,007) Knoxville, TN |
| 11/23/2015* 7:00 pm | No. 23 | Morgan State | W 90–61 | 2–1 | Carrier Dome (451) Syracuse, NY |
| 11/27/2015* 9:45 pm | No. 23 | vs. Washington South Point Thanksgiving Shootout | W 66–62 | 3–1 | South Point Arena Enterprise, NV |
| 11/28/2015* 7:30 pm | No. 23 | vs. Fordham South Point Thanksgiving Shootout | W 76–54 | 4–1 | South Point Arena Enterprise, NV |
| 12/02/2015* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 20 | at No. 5 Maryland ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge | L 64–82 | 4–2 | Xfinity Center (3,964) College Park, MD |
| 12/06/2015* 2:00 pm, TWCSC | No. 20 | Stony Brook | W 64–49 | 5–2 | Carrier Dome (219) Syracuse, NY |
| 12/09/2015* 7:00 pm, TWCSC | No. 19 | Coppin State | W 88–56 | 6–2 | Carrier Dome (335) Syracuse, NY |
| 12/12/2015* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 19 | No. 24 Arizona State | L 54–61 | 6–3 | Carrier Dome (526) Syracuse, NY |
| 12/21/2015* 7:00 pm, TWCSC | | Jacksonville | W 65–49 | 7–3 | Carrier Dome (404) Syracuse, NY |
| 12/29/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Drexel | W 83–62 | 8–3 | Carrier Dome (567) Syracuse, NY |
| 12/30/2015* 7:00 pm | | Howard | W 97–48 | 9–3 | Carrier Dome (464) Syracuse, NY |
| 01/01/2016* 12:00 pm | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 91–32 | 10–3 | Carrier Dome (442) Syracuse, NY |
| ACC regular season ||||||
| 01/03/2016 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 12 Duke | W 86–50 | 11–3 (1–0) | Carrier Dome (1,585) Syracuse, NY |
| 01/07/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Carolina | L 73–77 | 11–4 (1–1) | Carmichael Arena (1,724) Chapel Hill, NC |
| 01/10/2016 2:00 pm, TWCSC | | Virginia Tech | W 60–39 | 12–4 (2–1) | Carrier Dome (1,961) Syracuse, NY |
| 01/14/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Pittsburgh | W 71–48 | 13–4 (3–1) | Carrier Dome (424) Syracuse, NY |
| 01/17/2016 2:00 pm | | at Wake Forest | W 91–65 | 14–4 (4–1) | LJVM Coliseum (529) Winston-Salem, NC |
| 01/21/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at No. 3 Notre Dame | L 62–90 | 14–5 (4–2) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,312) South Bend, IN |
| 01/25/2016 7:00 pm, RSN | | No. 14 Louisville | L 53–71 | 14–6 (4–3) | Carrier Dome (549) Syracuse, NY |
| 01/27/2016 7:00 pm, TWCSC | | Boston College | W 62–61 | 15–6 (5–3) | Carrier Dome (375) Syracuse, NY |
| 02/01/2016 7:00 pm, RSN | | at No. 16 Miami (FL) | W 57–51 | 16–6 (6–3) | BankUnited Center (745) Coral Gables, FL |
| 02/04/2016 7:00 pm, TWCSC | | Clemson | W 83–62 | 17–6 (7–3) | Carrier Dome (407) Syracuse, NY |
| 02/07/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Georgia Tech | W 71–52 | 18–6 (8–3) | Carrier Dome (1,490) Syracuse, NY |
| 02/11/2016 7:00 pm, RSN | | at Virginia | W 91–57 | 19–6 (9–3) | John Paul Jones Arena (3,081) Charlottesville, VA |
| 02/14/2016 2:00 pm | | at NC State | W 55–52 | 20–6 (10–3) | Broughton HS (2,811) Raleigh, NC |
| 02/18/2016 7:00 pm, RSN | No. 23 | No. 10 Florida State | W 83–73 | 21–6 (11–3) | Carrier Dome (1,535) Syracuse, NY |
| 02/21/2016 3:00 pm, RSN | No. 23 | at Pittsburgh | W 70–56 | 22–6 (12–3) | Peterson Events Center (4,151) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 02/25/2016 7:00 pm | No. 18 | at Boston College | W 71–55 | 23–6 (13–3) | Conte Forum (718) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| ACC Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/04/2016 8:00 pm, RSN | No. 17 | vs. NC State Quarterfinals | W 80–61 | 24–6 | Greensboro Coliseum (5,034) Greensboro, NC |
| 03/05/2016 2:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 17 | vs. No. 7 Louisville Semifinals | W 80–75 | 25–6 | Greensboro Coliseum (5,871) Greensboro, NC |
| 03/06/2016 12:30 pm, ESPN | No. 17 | vs. No. 2 Notre Dame Championship Game | L 57–68 | 25–7 | Greensboro Coliseum (5,017) Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/18/2016* 2:30 pm, ESPN2 | (4 SF) No. 14 | (13 SF) Army First Round | W 73–56 | 26–7 | Carrier Dome (2,445) Syracuse, NY |
| 03/20/2016* 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4 SF) No. 14 | (12 SF) Albany Second Round | W 76–59 | 27–7 | Carrier Dome (3,842) Syracuse, NY |
| 03/25/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN | (4 SF) No. 14 | vs. (1 SF) No. 3 South Carolina Sweet Sixteen | W 80–72 | 28–7 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (4,610) Sioux Falls, SD |
| 03/27/2016* 3:30 pm, ESPN | (4 SF) No. 14 | vs. (7 SF) Tennessee Elite Eight | W 89–67 | 29–7 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (4,055) Sioux Falls, SD |
| 04/03/2016* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (4 SF) No. 14 | vs. (7 L) Washington Final Four | W 80–59 | 30–7 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (15,227) Indianapolis, IN |
| 04/05/2016* 8:30 pm, ESPN | (4 SF) No. 14 | vs. (1 B) No. 1 Connecticut Championship Game | L 51–82 | 30–8 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (14,514) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SF=Sioux Falls Region. All times are in Eastern. ||||||