Women's Hoops Faces I-81 Rival Binghamton Thursday Evening
12/1/2004 1:20:21 PM | Women's Basketball
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse women's basketball team will go for its fifth consecutive win when it hosts Binghamton on Thursday, Dec. 2. Tip-off at Manley Field House is set for 7 p.m.
Syracuse is 4-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season after its 65-61 win at Quinnipiac on Sunday, Nov. 28. Sophomore guard Lauren Kohn scored 15 of her career-high 19 points in the second half to rally SU from a four-point deficit in the final eight minutes of play. Senior Chineze Nwagbo had her second double-double of the season with 15 points and a season-best 13 rebounds. Freshman Jessica Richter had a season-best 12 points on four three-pointers, while classmate Sara Antolick snagged a season-high 13 boards. The Orange has not been 5-0 since the 1997-98 squad opened the year with seven straight wins. SU’s 4-0 record in November is its first unbeaten opening month since 1997-98.
Syracuse scored its third second-half comeback of the season in its win at Quinnipiac. The Orange trailed, 61-60, with 3:59 left in the game, but ended the contest on a 5-0 run. Kohn scored all five points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 3:46 left in the game. Kohn iced the game with a pair of free throws with 7.3 seconds left. In the season-opener against Niagara, the Orange was down 53-52 with 5:02 left. SU ended the game 10-4 run to take the 62-57 victory. At Yale, the Bulldogs, held a 54-52 advantage with 2:46 left. SU outscored Yale, 13-7, to end the game and come away with a 65-61 win.
Binghamton is 1-2 on the season after splitting a pair of games at its home tournament last weekend. The Bearcats defeated Marshall, a team that had been receiving votes in both the AP and coaches polls, 85-60, in the semifinals. In the championship game, Brown knocked off the Bearcats, 68-50. Binghamton opened the season with a 62-44 loss at North Texas. Rachel Laws leads Binghamton in both scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). She had a season-high 21 points in the win versus the Thundering Herd. Jen Haubrich is also averaging in double figures at 10.0 points per game. She has had back-to-back double-digit scoring games with 10 points against Marshall and 13 in the loss to Brown. The Bearcats have been red hot from long range, starting the season with 16 three-pointers in their first 31 attempts (51.6 percent). Jen Blues leads the club, hitting 6-for-9 from three-point range. Rebecka Lindgren is right behind at 5-for-9. All three of BU’s games have been mostly decided in the first half. In its two losses, the Bearcats have been outscored 67-30 before halftime. In its win against Marshall, Binghamton held a 45-26 halftime advantage.
Syracuse owns a 6-0 all-time advantage versus Binghamton. SU won last year’s meeting, 66-59, thanks to 35 points from Julie McBride. The last time the Bearcats visited Manley Field House was on Dec. 21, 2002 when the Orange was victorious, 72-51.
SU IN CRUNCH TIME
Syracuse has been able to pull out the close games this season because of its performances down the stretch. In the last five minutes of games this season, the Orange is shooting 50 percent (11-of-22) from the field. Overall, SU has a 40.6 shooting percentage. SU has also made 57.1 percent of its three-pointers in the last five minutes (4-for-7). The Orange’s overall three-point percentage is 34.0. At the foul line, SU has improved from its overall mark of 58.2 to 66.7 (20-of-30) in the last five minutes.
THE BUNNY TO THREE-POINT RATIO
Through the first four games of the season, SU is shooting 40.6 percent overall and 34.0 percent from three-point range. Last season, the Orange shot 35.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from deep. The increased shooting percentage is directly related to shot selection. So far in 2004-05, SU has taken an average of 56.0 shots per game. Only 23.7 percent of those looks have been from long range (13.3/game). Last season, 42.8 percent of the Orange’s shots were from three-point range (23.1/game). Syracuse took just five three-point shots in its victory versus Manhattan, but made them all count going 5-for-5. The five attempts were the fewest for an SU team since taking five against Virginia Tech on Jan. 31, 2001. Last season the fewest three-pointers Syracuse took in a single game was 13 at Villanova on Jan. 27.
