SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After wrapping up a very successful non-conference slate on Tuesday, December 30, with a victory against Princeton, 70-61, the Syracuse women's basketball team is revved up to get BIG EAST action underway. The Orange initiates league play on Saturday, January 3, at Georgetown's McDonough Gymnasium for its first game of the New Year. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 pm.
The Orange enters conference play with an 11-2 mark. Syracuse has won its last seven contests and boasts an untarnished record at home (7-0). Syracuse is 14-12 all-time in league starters and won its first five BIG EAST openers (1983-87). SU has won its last two league openers.
Syracuse's first conference game of the 2008-09 season can be heard on WTLA AM 1200 and
Orange All-Access.
Gearing Up for Georgetown
Georgetown (10-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) enters Saturday's game having won three of its last four games. The Hoyas lost at North Carolina State, 61-58, in their last outing on New Year's Eve. GU is also undefeated at home and will put its 6-0 record on the line. Although no one on Georgetown's roster is averaging double digits in scoring, the Hoya has six player averaging over seven points per game. Georgetown owns a +6.2 rebounding margin. The Hoya bench is averaging 30.6 ppg while allowing just 18.6 points per game.
GU's freshman guard, Adria Crawford, directs the Hoyas with 8.3 points per game in her first season in the collegiate ranks. She also leads the club with 7.1 rebounds per game. Defensively, the first-year guard has recorded a team-high 24 steals. Senior guard Karee Houlette and junior guard Meredith Cox represent the Hoyas 3-point threat. Houlette has drained 19-of-47 (40.4 percent) long-range attempts while Cox has converted 18-of-43 (41.9 percent) from three-point land. Junior guard Shanice Fuller has handed out a club-high 59 assists this season.
Saturday's outcome will be a breaking-point in this storied series. Syracuse and Georgetown have split their 48 frays right down the middle with the overall series resting at 24-24. Syracuse muzzled the Hoyas in last year's affair, 68-67, at the Carrier Dome to draw the series even. Each club holds a slight edge in their home facilities. Syracuse has posted a 12-9 record at home while Georgetown has compiled a 12-10 total in our nation's capital.
Wanna Be Like Mike
Junior forward Nicole Michael is knocking on the door of Syracuse history. She looks to become the 18th player to break the 1,000-point career milestone. Michael has amassed 980 points in 70 career games and could become the second fastest player in Syracuse history to hit the 1,000-point mark. Martha Mogish (1978-81) hit the 1,000-point mark in her 66th game. Felisha Legette (1985-89) reached the milestone in 72 games.
The third-year junior has logged 11.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Michael has scored in double figures six points this season. She's also led the Orange in scoring twice, rebounding three times, steals once and blocks six times.
Michael recorded 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds in 28 minutes of action in SU's 70-61 victory versus Princeton on Dec. 30.
Non-Conference Rewind
Player Superlatives
Sophomore guard Erica Morrow has been a guiding force for the Orange through the first 13 bouts. Morrow leads Syracuse with 18.8 points per game including the most 3-pointers (29-92) of anyone on the team. Defensively, she has posted a team-best 36 steals. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native has 11 15-point plus and seven 20-point plus games. Her seven 20-point plus games rank tied for seventh (Kim Dick, 1981-82 & Kristen McCory, 1993-94) on SU's single-season chart. It also ranks currently ranks tied for second in the BIG EAST. Morrow's 12 career 20-point plus games rank tied for third (Felisha Legette, 1985-89 & Vaida Sipaviciute 2005-08) on SU's career list.
Senior guard Chandrea Jones and junior forward Juanita Ward are tied for the team lead with 8.8 boards per game.
Jones is second on the team with 16.5 points per game behind a fine 60-of-80 performance (75.0 percent) from the free throw line. She has scored in double-figures a team-high tying 11 times and has led the Orange in scoring twice. Jones also led SU in rebounding a team-best five times, steals and blocks on five occasions and assists twice. The senior has made 43.9 percent (72-164) of her shots. She has seven 15-point plus, four 20-point plus and one 33-point game already this season. Jones' four 20-point plus performances rank tied for ninth in the BIG EAST. Her four double-doubles rank tied for fourth in the BIG EAST. Jones also has six double-figure rebounding performances.
Ward has made major contributions for Syracuse in her first season. The third-year transfer from Odessa College has chipped in with 11.2 points per game and is averaging 24.4 minutes per outing. The junior has made her way to the line 79 times (second most on the team), converting 59 of her tries (74.7 percent).
Sophomore guard Tasha Harris has dished out a team-leading 55 assists along with 4.2 points per game and 19 total steals.
Team Notables
Syracuse is 7-0 when shooting better than 40.0 percent.
SU has grabbed 40-plus rebounds in 12 of its 13 contests, including a 64-rebound outburst in its 68-28 win at Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 16. The Orange has four 22-plus offensive rebounding efforts and has grabbed at least 10 offensive and 20 defensive boards in every contest.
SU has made 71.6 percent (245-342) of its attempts and is 7-1 when its shoots 70 percent or better from the charity stripe. The Orange made a season-best 91.7 percent (22-24) of its free-throw attempts in its 67-62 win against Ohio on Dec. 21. It was SU's best performance from the line since it made 94.4 percent (17-18) of its attempts versus South Florida on March 8, 2008.