Orangewomen Set to Make Home Debut
11/24/2003 6:36:03 PM | Women's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse women's basketball team will play its first home contest of the 2003-04 season when it hosts Massachusetts at Manley Field House on Tuesday, November 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Syracuse started the 2003-04 season with a 66-59 victory at Binghamton on Saturday, November 22. Senior guard Julie McBride scored a career-high 35 points to lead Syracuse. McBride made 9-of-18 from the floor, including three three-pointers, and hit 14-of-15 from the free throw line. Her 35 points tied for third on the SU single-game ledger, while her 14 free throws tied the school mark set that has stood since 1982. McBride also had two rebounds, four assists and a steal in 38 minutes. The Orangewomen had to come from behind to earn the victory, trailing 12-3 in the early going and 32-28 at halftime. Freshman Lauren Kohn put SU up to stay with 4:36 left in the game, nailing her first career three-pointer. Junior center Chineze Nwagbo scored six points and had a team-best nine rebounds in her first game since she suffered a knee injury in the first round of the 2002 BIG EAST Tournament.
The game with the Massachusetts is SU’s last home contest until a December 7 meeting with Yale. It was one of only two non-conference home games the Orangewomen will play all season. Syracuse had an atypical season at home last year. For the first time since 1972-73, the Orangewomen won more games on the road than they did at home. SU went 4-9 at Manley Field House last season and 6-9 away from home.
Massachusetts is 0-2 entering the game after a 61-46 loss at Sacred Heart on Friday, November 21 in their first game and a 68-63 loss at home versus Holy Cross on Sunday, November 23. UMass coach Marnie Dacko is in her second season with the Minutewomen. She led the squad to a 14-14 season in 2002-03.
Junior college transfer Edris Bailey is the Minutewomen’s leading scorer at 14.5 points per game despite not starting. She led UMass with 21 points versus Holy Cross, hitting 10-of-13 shots from the floor in 20 minutes of play before fouling out. She had eight points in the opener on 4-of-7 shooting. Tamara Tatham is also scoring in double figures at 10.5 points per contest. She has reached double figures in both of the Minutewomen’s games, hitting for 10 against Sacred Heart and 11 versus Holy Cross. Judit Zsedenyi is third on the team, averaging 8.0 points per game. Zsedenyi is also the team’s leading rebounder, pulling down 5.5 points per game.
As a team, UMass is hitting 42.5 percent from the floor (45-106) and 30.0 percent from three-point range (6-of-20). The Minutewomen have been plagued by turnovers in their first two outings. Versus Sacred Heart they committed 25 miscues and followed that up with 21 against Holy Cross. Massachusetts has been strong on the glass, outrebounding each of its first two opponents.
THE SYRACUSE VS. MASSACHUSETTS SERIES
Tonight’s contest is the first meeting between the two schools since a 61-46 Syracuse victory on December 29, 1984 at Manley Field House in the Carrier Classic. The Orangewomen hold a 4-1 all-time advantage in the series and have won the last three games. All five previous meeetings took place between January 18, 1980 and December 29. 1984. SU head coach Keith Cieplicki has split his two career meetings with the Minutewomen, winning at Vermont in 2001-02 and losing at Massachusetts last season.
Syracuse vs. Massachusetts Facts & Figures
All-Time Record: SU leads, 4-1
First Meeting: Jan. 18, 1980 at SU (SU 73, UMass 72)
Last Meeting: Dec. 29, 1984 at SU (SU 61-46)
Current Streak:SU won 3
Largest SU Margin of Victory: 25 points (Dec. 5, 1981, 92-67)
Largest UMass Margin of Victory: 4 points (Jan. 16, 1981, 70-66 OT)
Coach Cieplicki’s Record vs. UMass: 1-1
ORANGEWOMEN SET SCHOOL RECORD FIRST TIME OUT
Syracuse made 10-of-35 three-pointers at Binghamton, breaking the school record for three-point attempts in a single game. SU had previously shot 30 three-point attempts in a game three times, most recently versus Akron on November 23, 1999. Seven different players took at least one three-pointer.
SU TAKES CARE OF THE BALL VERSUS BEARCATS
The Orangewomen committed just eight turnovers against Binghamton, the team’s lowest total since turning it over just seven times in a 74-46 win versus West Virginia on February 23, 2002. It was the first time since that game that SU had less than 10 turnovers. Turnover margin is a good predictor of Syracuse’s success in recent seasons. Since the start of the 2001-02 season, the Orangewomen are 23-15 when having either fewer or an equal number of turnovers than their opponent. Conversely, SU is just 5-13 when losing the turnover battle.
ORANGEWOMEN GET RARE SECOND-HALF COMEBACK
Syracuse trailed Binghamton, 32-38, at the end of the first half in their season-opening victory. The Orangewomen snapped a 12-game losing skid when trailing at the half. Ironcially, before Binghamton, the last SU victory when behind at the half was on December 18, 2002 at Vermont. The Keith Cieplicki-led Catamounts led, 38-32 at intermission, but the Orangewomen won the game, 79-75, in overtime. Since the start of the 2001-02 season, Syracuse is 5-28 when trailing at halftime, 21-3 when ahead at the half and 3-0 when tied at the half.
QUICK TURNAROUND
Tonight’s game with Massachusetts starts a whirlwind stretch for the Orangewomen. Less than twelve hours after the completion of the game with the Minutewomen, SU will board a bus at Manley Field House and depart for Honolulu, Hawaii where they will play in the Rainbow Wahine Classic on Friday, November 28, Saturday, November 29, and Sunday, November 30.The Orangewomen return to Syracuse via a red eye flight at approximately 1:30 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, December 2. Syracuse then must depart for Washington, D.C. on Wednesday evening for its game with George Washington on December 4. After returning home following the contest on Thursday night, SU has just two days to prepare for its second home game of the season on Sunday, December 7 versus Yale.
