Orange and Irish Meet for Round Two
1/18/2005 6:14:28 PM | Women's Basketball
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse women's basketball team (10-5, 2-2) will finish the second of its five BIG EAST home-and-home series when it faces the #11/10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-3, 2-2) on Wednesday, Jan. 19. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
The Irish came away with a 75-58 victory on Jan. 5 at the Joyce Center in South Bend. SU has already split its season series with Pittsburgh and still must face Villanova, Rutgers and Georgetown two times each. SU is on a modest two-game winning streak with victories against Providence (72-51 at home) and Pittsburgh (68-55 on the road). Freshman Jessica Richter has scored a career-high 18 points in each of the last two and is SU’s top scorer in BIG EAST play at 15.5 points per game. Richter is also the BIG EAST’s top three-point shooter during league play with 2.5 three-pointers per game. Senior guard Rochelle Coleman has been a pleasant surprise since moving to the point guard spot in SU’s first game with Notre Dame. Coleman, a shooting guard in each of her first three seasons, had 15 points at Pittsburgh and has registered a career-high nine assists in each of the last two games. She is second in the BIG EAST with 7.25 assists during league games. Her scoring has picked up as well. She has scored in double figures in four of the last six games. Senior Chineze Nwagbo notched her fifth double-double of the season in the win against the Panthers with 14 points and 13 boards. She leads SU in both categories with 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. She is the BIG EAST’s fourth-leading rebounder. Sophomore Lauren Kohn was SU’s fourth starter in double figures at Pittsburgh. She notched 13 points, including two three-pointers. Kohn is SU’s second-leading scorer at 10.1 points per contest, including 10.5 in league games. She leads the Orange with 30 three-pointers and is fourth in the conference with 2.00 per game. Syracuse has been swept during the regular season six times in the last six seasons. Notre Dame took both regular-season meetings last year.
Notre Dame has lost both its BIG EAST games since defeating SU (59-54 at Villanova; 67-50 vs. UConn), but is coming off an impressive 86-69 win versus 20th-ranked Purdue on Sunday. All-American Jacqueline Batteast led the way with 21 points, while Megan Duffy netted 19, including three three-pointers. Teresa Borton scored 18 points from her center spot. Batteast is UND’s leading scorer, ranking third in the conference at 18.5 points per game. She is also the Irish’s top rebounder with 7.0 boards per game. Duffy is at 11.6 points per game and has made 25 of the Irish’s 40 three-pointers. The game features two of the league’s top field goal percentage defenses. SU is second in the conference, allowing opponents to shoot just 35.0 percent. Notre Dame is right behind at 35.3 percent. The Irish shot 46.4 percent in the first meeting, compared to only 31.4 percent for Syracuse. The battle on the perimeter could also be key. SU was able to hang in with UND thanks to a season-high nine three-pointers on Jan. 5. SU is second in the league with 5.4 threes per game. UND, however, paces the conference by allowing opponents only 24.5 percent from the arc.
Notre Dame holds a 17-2 all-time advantage versus the Orange, including a 13-0 mark in BIGEASTregular-season play. SU last defeated the Fighting Irish in the quarterfinals of the BIGEASTTournament in 2002, snapping a 12-game losing streak to UND. The Fighting Irish have won seven straight games at Manley Field House.
THREE FOR THREE
The trio of freshman Jessica Richter, sophomore Lauren Kohn and senior Rochelle Coleman have cornered the market on three-pointers for the Orange this season. The trio has combined to make 80 of the Orange’s 81 three-pointers this season. No other SU player has made a three-pointer since Amanda Adamson versus Yale on Nov. 21. Adamson is the only player to even attempt a three in league play (0-4 vs. Notre Dame). Kohn leads the way with 30 with Coleman next at 26 and Richter third with 24. All three rank among the BIG EAST’s top 10 in three-pointers made. Syracuse is the only school to boast three players in the top 10. During league play, the triumverate ranks first and tied for second in threes per game. Richter tops the BIG EAST ledger at 2.50 per game. Kohn and Coleman are tied with UConn’s Ann Strother for second at 2.25 per contest. As a team, SU ranks second in the league at 5.4 triples a game.
SECOND-HALF SURGE ON THE GLASS VERSUS PANTHERS
The Orange were on the short end of a 45-41 rebounding differential at Pittsburgh, the BIG EAST’s top rebounding team. However, SU won the rebounding battle in the second half, 25-18. Not surprisingly, SU is 7-1 in games when it has more rebounds and 3-4 when on the short end of the rebounding numbers. Rebounding may be the area SU has most improved from last season. The Orange held the rebounding edge in just two of its 27 games during the entire 2003-04 season. SU fifth in the league in rebounding at 39.7 per game. Last season, the Orange averaged 30.2 rebounds per game while allowing opponents 41.6 boards per contest. Its -11.4 rebounding differential ranked last in the BIG EAST. SU has gone 14-5 since the start of the 2002-03 season when grabbing more rebounds then its opponent.
