Orange Squares Off with Tigers on Sunday Afternoon
12/16/2004 2:08:49 PM | Women's Basketball
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orange women's basketball team will play the final game of its three-game homestand when it hosts Auburn at Manley Field House on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. It is SU's first game since Dec. 11 after taking a week off for final exams.
The match-up is the return game from SU’s visit to Tiger country during the 2001-02 season. Syracuse will be trying to avoid its first losing streak of the season. The Orange lost its last game, 60-49, versus Kent State. The defeat was the first of the year at home for SU. After a red-hot 8-for-9 start from the field, the Orange made just 12-of-44 for the remainder of the contest, accounting for its season-low 49 points. SU finished the game with a 37.7 shooting percentage and was just 3-for-15 (.200) from three-point range. Senior Chineze Nwagbo and sophomore Lauren Kohn tied for the team lead with 10 points each. It was Nwagbo’s seventh double-digit scoring game in SU’s first eight games. Senior Krystalyn Ellerbe made her first start of the season, scoring eight points and adding four assists.
Nwagbo is the team leader in both points (14.3) and rebounds (8.5). She ranks in 11th in the BIG EAST in scoring and is the conference's fourth-leading rebounder. Kohn is averaging 10.4 points per contest. She is the league's fourth-most prolific three-point shooter at 2.12 per game. She ranks third in the league in three-point percentage (min. 2.0 made/game) at 44.7 percent.
The Tigers began the campaign with losses to Wisconsin-Green Bay (64-56) and Louisville (76-60) at the Bank North Tournament in Burlington, Vt., but have come back to win their last six games. Auburn has been particularly tough on opponents in the last three outings, winning by an average of 36.3 points. AU defeated New Orleans, 76-27, in its last game on Dec. 9. Natasha Brackett led the Tigers with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting in the win. Marita Payne had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, and blocked a team-best six shots. The Tigers have three starters in double figures for the season led by Brackett’s 16.4 points per game. The preseason All-SEC pick also leads the team with 12 three-pointers. Louise Emeagi is averaging 10.8 points per game, while Payne is the Tigers’ third-leading scorer at 10.0 points per contest. She is the team’s leading rebounder at 8.9 boards a game and is averaging an amazing 4.5 blockes shots per contest. As a team, the Tigers are shooting 39.8 percent from the field, including 28.0 percent from behind the arc. They average 46.0 rebounds per game and hold a +10.0 rebounding margin.
Auburn holds a 4-0 advantage all-time versus the Orange. Sunday’s meeting is the first since a 58-55 Tiger win at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 29, 2001. This will Auburn’s first trip to Manley Field House since the first game of the series on Feb. 18, 1988 when the Tigers were victorious, 87-70.
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