SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Before running the BIG EAST gamut, the Syracuse women's basketball team has one more foe on its radar. The Orange (10-2) looks to win its seventh-consecutive non-conference bout against the Princeton Tigers (4-7) on Tuesday, December 30 at noon. After escaping St. Bonaventure with a one-point victory on Sunday, 69-68, Syracuse returns to the confines of the Carrier Dome in which the Orange rattled off five straight wins before the thriller in Olean, N.Y.
A Peek at Princeton
Princeton travels to Syracuse with a 4-7 record. The Tigers started off with a promising 3-1 win-loss total by defeating Fordham, Stony Brook and Fairleigh Dickinson. Since then, the Ivy League bunch hit a 1-6 rut with its only victory coming at home against Monmouth.
Sophomore guard Addie Micir directs Princeton's scoring efforts by averaging 12.6 points per game. Micir not only leads the Tigers with a 41.8 percent (28-67) clip from behind the arc, but she is the squad's third leading rebounder with 4.0 per outing. Senior guard Whitney Downs is second on the team with 10.9 points per game but has compiled a team-high 45.2 (38-84) field goal percentage amongst the starting five. Defensively, Downs leads the Tigers with 20 total steals. Freshman center Devona Allgood has pulled in the most boards for Princeton this season with 61 total.
Syracuse survived the first meeting between the two teams last year, 77-75, at Jadwin Gymnasium. Just as the Orange is in pursuit of its seventh-straight win on Tuesday, Syracuse's two-point victory in Princeton, N.J. secured Syracuse's seventh consecutive win in the 2007-08 season.
Last Time Out
Sophomore guard Erica Morrow scored eight of Syracuse's final 11 points, all in the final 3:01 of play, to lead the Orange past St. Bonaventure, 69-68. Morrow, who finished with a team-leading 23 points, converted two free throws in the final seconds to secure the triumph.
Syracuse trailed by as many as 12 points in the contest and did not take the lead until Morrow's two free throws with 3:01 left put the Orange ahead, 60-59. St. Bonaventure answered with a basket by Dana Mitchell but sophomore guard Tasha Harris drained a 3-pointer, her only points of the game, to give the Orange a 63-61 advantage. Both squads matched each other's score two more times before Morrow put SU ahead for good. Her two free throws with eight seconds left sealed the decision.
Junior forward Juanita Ward secured her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Chandrea Jones contributed 13 points and nine boards, and senior forward Lina Lisnere posted season-high efforts with seven points and seven rebounds.
Morrow Makes BIG EAST Honor Roll
Morrow's game-ending heroics yielded her first listing to the BIG EAST honor roll. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native totaled 23 points in 29 minutes along with four rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Morrow has scored at least 15 points in her last five consecutive games. It was also the sixth time she has led the Orange in scoring this season.
Morrow is the third member of the Orange to earn a spot on the BIG EAST honor roll. Jones landed on the list the first two weeks of the season while Ward was tabbed as a conference selection for her 20-point performance and career-best five steals against Niagara on December 14.
Orange Peels
In her third outing with the Orange, freshman guard Lynnae Lampkins scored her first career points on Sunday afternoon at St. Bonaventure. Lampkins drained two field goals including her first 3-pointer.
Lisnere flashed her veteran dexterity on Sunday by matching season-highs in points (7), steals (2), free throws (2), 3-pointers (1) and blocks (1). Lisnere also set a standard this season with seven rebounds, all on the defensive side of the floor.
Ward cinched her third double-double behind 13 points and 11 rebounds. The third-year transfer made her third trifecta of the season and attempted a season-high 14 shots.
Morrow's dominating play in the final moments of the game to ice the victory was emulated by season-highs with nine converted free throws and 13 trips to the line.
Junior forward Nicole Michael stuffed a season-best three shots in the triumph at St. Bonaventure.