SMU (4-5, 0-0 ACC) vs Syracuse (7-1, 0-0 ACC)
David B. Miller Court at Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
Thursday, December 7, 2025 – 2 p.m. CT
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DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's basketball team continues its 50^th season in program history by beginning conference action, hosting Syracuse on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT inside Moody Coliseum in the team's ACC Opener. The game will air on ACCNX and fans can also listen to the game live on the SMU Mobile App or follow along via live stats found here.

Sunday is a White Out as fans are encouraged to wear white. Fans can also pick up a pair of white pom poms to cheer on the Mustangs during the game at the marketing table when they enter the coliseum.

Season and single-game tickets for the 2025-26 season are available now and can be purchased here. For the first time this season, fans can also purchase an 8-Game Flex Pass. Use all eight at one game or spread them out however you like across the season. More information on all ticket options can be found here. For any ticket questions, please contact 214-SMU-GAME or email tickets@smu.edu.

SMU has been on fire lately and will look to extend its winning streak to four in a row. The Mustangs have scored over 78 points in their last three games and shot over 46% from the field over that span. Last time out, SMU defeated Arkansas as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge 78-63. The Mustangs were one of three ACC Schools to win their challenge game.

Against Arkansas, Tyi Skinner recorded the program's fourth double-double by way of assists and points with a 17-point, 10-assist performance. Sahnya Jah tied her career high, scoring 22 points in the victory as SMU scored 50 points in the paint in a game for the first time since 2023.  

Nine games into the season, the Mustangs have three players averaging double figures per game: Tyi Skinner (15.1), Zahra King (14.0), Sahnya Jah (11.6).  

King leads SMU in points scored with 126 total points and is coming off scoring a career high of 23 against Southern Miss.  She has scored in double figures in six of the team's nine games this season, including scoring over 14 points in three of her last four games.

King has been incredibly efficient, shooting 54.9% from the field. Her field goal percentage ranks fourth in the ACC, and her 50 made field goals rank 11 in the conference.

After missing a couple of games to begin the season, Tyi Skinner looks to be in midseason form as she is averaging over 18 points per game in her last four games, including her first 20-point game of the season as she scored 27 points against Winthrop. Skinner ranks eighth in the ACC in points per game (15.1).

Last time out Skinner scored 17 points and tallied a career high 10 assists and did not record a turnover.  The most assists by a Mustang since Jasmine Smith set the program record for assists in a game with 12  versus North Texas (12/7/22). Skinner is eighth in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.93).

On offense, SMU ranks fourth in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (14.7) and fourth in the ACC in bench points per game (28.7). SMU has had five games with 30+ points off the bench, including a season-high of 38 last time out. SMU has also had five games with over 30 points in the paint this season.

SMU's defense has been causing havoc for other teams this season as the Mustangs rank fourth in the ACC / 52^nd in the NCAA in steals per game at 11.3. SMU also ranks fourth in the ACC / 25^th in the NCAA in blocks per game (5.2) and fifth in the ACC in turnovers forced per game (19.11).

Kyla Deck has been a force on defense as she is third in the ACC in total steals with 33 (9^th in the NCAA) and in steals per game with 3.67 (16^th in the NCAA). Deck is coming off her fifth game this season with four or more steals, as she recorded four against Arkansas.  

SMU has recorded double-digit steals in all but two games this season. The Mustangs' seven games with double-digit steals are already the most in a single season since the 2023-24 year (9), and the team's 84 steals in the first seven games was the most since the team had 89 during the 2012-13 season. The Mustangs are third in the ACC in total steals with 102.

SMU is 4-5 under head coach  Adia Barnes. Barnes, a former WBCA Coach of the Year Finalist and Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist, was named Head Women's Basketball Coach at SMU on April 5.

As SMU enters year two in the ACC, it will do so with an entirely new roster and coaching staff, signing 15 new players ahead of the 2025-26 season. Of the 15, eight players transferred in from a Power 4 institution. The Mustangs will also be one of the more experienced teams in the nation, having added eight seniors/graduate students to the roster this season.

// THE MATCH UP

• SMU is looking for its fourth straight victory and to begin ACC play 1-0. The Mustangs are 3-2 at home this season and are 2-0 in their current four-game homestand.
• Sunday's game will be the second time the two teams have ever played each other.
• Last season, the Mustangs took home the victory over Syracuse in a 72-71 overtime thriller in New York. 
• Syracuse enters the game with a record of 7-1 but will be playing their first true road game on Sunday. The Orange are 1-1 in neutral-site games this year.

// (ACC)OMPLISH GREATNESS

• ACC teams have combined to register 101 victories this season.
• The ACC has played 19 games against AP Top 25 opponents this season, the most of any Division I conference (next closest is the Big Ten with 16).
•  Three ACC teams are in the latest Associated Press (AP) Poll: North Carolina (No. 11), Notre Dame (No. 18) and Louisville (No. 22). NC State and Stanford are receiving votes.
• Four ACC teams appear in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll: North Carolina (No. 10), Notre Dame (No. 19), Louisville (No. 21) and NC State (No. 25). Duke and Stanford are receiving votes.
• The ACC currently has nine teams in the top 50 of the NET: North Carolina (No. 13), Louisville (No. 15), Notre Dame (No. 33), Stanford (No. 34), Virginia (No. 35), NC State (No. 38), Syracuse (No. 41), Duke (No. 46) and Miami (No. 47). The ACC finished with 10 teams in the top 50 of the NET a season ago.

// DYNAMIC DUO

• Zahra King and Tyi Skinner have been on a tear recently, averaging 15.1 and 14.0 points per game, respectively. The duo is one of four ACC schools to have two or more players average over 14 points per game.
• King has scored in double figures in three of her last four games, including scoring a career high 23 points against Southern Miss.
• Skinner is coming off recording her second career double-double as she recorded 17 points and 10 assists against Arkansas. Her 10 assists are tied for the ninth most in a single game in program history. She leads the Mustangs in assists with 27.
• Skinner scored 27 points against Winthrop and is averaging 18 points over her last three games. It was her 34th career 20-point game as she made five 3-pointers and currently leads SMU in 3-pointers made with 14.
• Skinner is also 17-of-18 from the line over her last four games and is making 81% of her foul shots this season.

// MUSTANGS TAKE DOWN ARKANSAS

• Behind a 22-point performance from Sahnya Jah and a double-double from Tyi Skinner, the SMU women's basketball program defeated Arkansas 78-63 on Thursday inside Moody Coliseum as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge.
• The Mustangs held Arkansas to just 28.9% from the field en route to their third consecutive victory. SMU shot 47.8% from the floor in the game and over 50% in the second and third quarters. The Mustangs tallied 50 points in the paint and a season high 38 bench points. The team scored 20 points off turnovers to Arkansas' 10, while also blocking eight shots and recording 10 steals.
• Facilitating the offense all night long was Tyi Skinner, who ended the game with 17 points and a career high 10 assists, her second career double-double. Skinner is now the fourth Mustang in school history to record a double-double by way of points and assists.
• Sahnya Jah had a birthday to remember, tying her career high with 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Jah also finished the night with seven rebounds and a plus/minus of +29. It was her second career 20-point performance and her first this season.

// OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION

• The Mustangs have made it a point to get offensive rebounds this season, as the team ranks fourth in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game. Miriam Ibezim is second in the ACC and 19^th nationally in offensive rebounds per game 4.0.
• SMU has had three games with four or more players reaching double figures.
• The Mustangs had five players reach double figures in the team's win over Grambling State, a feat only achieved twice last season. SMU defeated GSU 96-70, the most points scored in a game since SMU scored 96 against Alabama State in 2023.
• Sahnya Jah led the way with 19 points (6-9 FG), Kyla Deck was next with 18 points (4-7 3pts), followed by Grace Hall with 15 points and seven rebounds, Zahra King with a career-high 14 points and four assists and Jzaniya Harriel with 10 points and a career-high seven rebounds.

// DOMINATE DEFENSE

• SMU has forced 148 turnovers this season and has forced 20 or more in five games this season.
• The team's 22 turnovers against Winthrop was the fifth time this season SMU had forced 20 or more. If the team were to get one more, it would be the most games with 20 or more turnovers forced since the 2019-20 season (12).
• Deck ranks third in the ACC in total steals with 29 (7^th in the NCAA) and in steals per game at 3.86 (15^th in the NCAA). Deck has recorded 195 steals in her career.  Deck has totaled three games with five or more steals this season, including two six-steal games.  
• The Mustangs forced a season high 24 turnovers and recorded a season high 16 steals against GCU. Four mustangs finished with three steals in the game.
• Deck recorded six steals against Grambling State, which was tied for the most by any ACC player in their team's season-opening game.

 // IT'S A BLOCK PARTY

• SMU has totaled 47 blocks this season, the third most in the ACC. The team's 5.2 blocks per game ranks fifth in the conference.
• SMU recorded a season high of eight blocks against Arkansas and has had Anaya Brown lead the team in total blocks with 15.
• Brown has three games this season with three blocks and has totaled 19 career games with three or more. She has now totaled 147 blocks in her career. Her 15 blocks this season rank fifth in the ACC, and her 1.6 blocks per game rank fifth in the conference.

// LETTING IT FLY

• SMU knocked down a season high 11 three pointers against Texas Tech. The team was 11-33 from behind the arc. The 33 attempts are tied for the second most in program history.
• The Mustangs have made 56 three-pointers this season, while Tyi Skinner leads the team with 14 made. Zahra King is shooting 47% from beyond the arc this season.

// GETTING TO THE LINE

• The Mustangs have made it a point of emphasis to get to the line recently. The team was 23-of-28 (82%) from the line against Southern Miss. Tyi Skinner (7-8), Zahra King (4-5) and Kyla Deck (4-4) led the way at the stripe.
• Skinner leads SMU shooting 81% from the line and has made 17 of her 18 attempts.
• SMU got to the line a lot against Grambling and was 28-37 from the stripe in the game. The Mustangs' 28 made free throws are the most since the team made 40 at Memphis during the 2023-24 season.

// POINTS IN THE PAINT

• The Mustangs have been attacking the paint this season and are coming off a 50-point performance in the paint against Arkansas. It was the first time the Mustangs have scored 50 points in the paint in a game since the team scored 52 against Air Force in 2023.
• SMU has had 30 games scoring 30 or more points this season.