SU Squares off with Hurricanes to Open Postseason
3/8/2003 3:37:14 PM | Women's Basketball
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PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Orangewomen will face the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the 2003 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Championship at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 8 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on the campus of Rutgers University. SU is the 10th seed in the tournament, while the Hurricanes are seeded seventh.
Syracuse and Miami have never met in the BIG EAST postseason. The two teams split a pair of regular-season games this season with each team winning on the road. The Hurricanes lead the all-time series, 15-6. Five of the last seven games between the two teams have been decided by four points or less.
Syracuse is led by a pair of all-conference players in junior guards Shannon Perry and Julie McBride. Perry is a third-team all-league player after leading the Orangewomen in both scoring (15.8 ppg) and rebounding (10.4 rpg). She is on pace to become the first Syracuse player to average a double-double since all-time leading scorer and rebounder Felisha Legette in 1985-86. Perry has 15 double-doubles in 25 games this season.
McBride was named to the all-conference third team. She is SU's second-leading scorer at 15.7 points per game and is the Orangewomen's leader in assists at 6.4 per contest. She is the only player in Orangewomen history to have consecutive seasons with at least 400 points and 150 assists.
Junior April Jean and sophomore Rochelle Coleman are also scoring in double figures. Coleman is third on the squad with a 13.4 scoring average. Jean is fourth at 10.3 points per contest, including an 11.4 average in BIG EAST play.
Miami is 16-11 overall and 8-8 in the BIG EAST. Freshman Tamara James leads the conference in scoring at more than 20 points per game.
