Orangewomen Take on Notre Dame in Regular Season Finale
3/3/2003 6:02:04 PM | Women's Basketball
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse women's basketball team concludes it regular season at home, taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the regular-season finale for both schools. Tip-off at Manley Field House is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4.
SU (10-16, 5-10) clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament with its 71-61 win versus Pittsburgh on Saturday. Three players scored in double figures for the Orangewomen led by junior forward April Jean’s 20 points. Junior guard Julie McBride scored 19 points, including four three-pointers to become the first Orangewoman ever to score at least 400 points in consecutive seasons. Junior Shannon Perry notched her third straight double-double, her 14th of the season, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Senior center Awa Diop celebrated Senior Night in grand fashion, playing a career-high 28 minutes. She posted career bests in points (8), field goals (4), rebounds (7) and steals (2). Sophomore Rochelle Coleman scored just six points on a pair of three-pointers, but dished out a career-best seven assists and snagged seven boards.
The Orangewomen have four players scoring in double figures for the season. McBride and Perry are each hitting for 16.0 points per game. Perry leads the team with 10.3 rebounds per game, while McBride paces the Orangewomen with 6.4 assists per contest. McBride is also just six three-pointers shy of tying the SU single-season record of 72 set by Jaime James last season. Coleman is third on the squad with a 13.2 points per game average, while Jean is scoring 16.3 points per game in her last three to improve her overall average to 10.2 tallies a contest.
Notre Dame has won four of its last five games to improve to 17-9 overall and 9-6 in the BIG EAST. The Irish’s only loss in that stretch is to top-ranked Connecticut. UND won a thriller, 62-60, versus Seton Hall at the Joyce Center in its last game on Saturday.
Katy Flecky was the hero for the Irish, sinking the Pirates with a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining in the game. Freshman Courtney LaVere led all scorers with 20 points and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week for her efforts. Senior guard Alicia Ratay also had 20 points, including three three-pointers to become Notre Dame’s all-time leader in that category (252). Sophomore forward Jacqueline Batteast hit for 11 points and had nine rebounds.
The Irish use a balanced attack with three players scoring in double figures and six players averaging at least 7.5 points per game. Batteast resides at the top of the scoring ledger with a 14.9 per game average. She is also Notre Dame’s leading rebounder, grabbing 8.1 caroms each time out. LaVere is second on the team wit a 12.4 scoring average, while Ratay is hitting for 11.9 points per game. She has made 40 of Notre Dame’s 72 three-pointers this season. No other Irish player has more than eight (Batteast).
Notre Dame holds a 13-2 all-time advantage versus the Orangewomen, including a 9-0 mark in BIG EAST regular-season play. SU defeated the Fighting Irish in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament last season, snapping a 12-game losing streak to UND. It was Syracuse’s first win against Notre Dame since a 63-56 win at Manley Field House on February 4, 1989.
