Syracuse Heads For Fun in the Sun
12/17/2006 4:54:38 PM | Women's Basketball
The Syracuse University women’s basketball team (5-5, 1-0) travels to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the San Juan Shootout. The Orange will play Loyola (1-7, 0-0 Horizon League) on Tues., Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. and TCU (6-4, 0-0 Mountain West Conference) on Wed., Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. Both games can be heard live on suathletics.com with Brian Higgins calling the action. Both games can also be heard live on WJPZ 89.1 FM.
The Orange is coming off a 74-68 loss to Central Michigan on Dec. 9 in the Carrier Dome. The loss snapped SU’s four-game winning streak. Loyola is coming off a 73-69 win at Dayton on Dec. 6. The victory ended the Ramblers’ seven-game losing streak and was the first win of the year for Loyola. TCU is coming off an 80-58 loss at No. 11 Georgia on Dec. 17. The loss ended the Frogs six-game winning streak. Syracuse is 2-0 in neutral site games this season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Freshman Nicole Michael recorded her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 15 rebounds against Central Michigan on Dec. 9. She also had two steals and an assist for the Orange. The freshman leads SU in points with 16.7 and rebounds with 9.2. Michael has registered at least 16 points and five rebounds in eight of Syracuse’s 10 games. She has led the Orange in scoring six times, rebounding five times, blocks and steals four times and assists three times. Michael is ninth overall and second for freshman in the BIG EAST in scoring and seventh overall and first for freshman in rebounding. She is also fourth overall and first for freshman in defensive rebounds at 6.6 per game. Michael’s three double-doubles are tied for sixth and her three 20-point plus point games are tied for ninth in the BIG EAST. She has already earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week accolades twice on Nov. 27 and Dec. 4 and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Brown Classic, hosted by Brown University on Dec. 2-3.
DOUBLE VISION
Junior Fantasia Goodwin tallied her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds versus Central Michigan on Dec. 9. She also had three assists and a steal for SU. The junior is second on the team in points with 13.7 and rebounds with 8.6. She is first on the squad in 3-point field-goal and free-throw percentage, making 47.7 percent (21-44) of her 3-point attempts and 70.0 percent (14-20) of her free throws. Goodwin has scored in double-figures in three-consecutive games, including a career-high 24 points in her first career BIG EAST game at St. John’s on Dec. 7. She has reached the double-figure plateau in eight of Syracuse’s 10 games this season. Goodwin is third in the BIG EAST and 41st in the country in 3-point field-goal percentage. She is also third in the BIG EAST in minutes played (34.50), fifth in defensive rebounds (6.4), eighth in rebounding, eighth in 3-pointers made and 23rd in scoring. Goodwin has already earned accolades this season by being named to Brown Classic All-Tournament team.
SCOUTING THE RAMBLERS
The Loyola Ramblers (1-7, 0-0 Horizon League) are coming off a 73-69 win at Dayton on Dec. 6. The victory ended the Ramblers’ seven-game losing streak and was the first win of the year for Loyola.
Jenna Real scored a team-high 17 points, hitting 8-of-10 (.800) shots from the field, and added nine boards and four assists to help the Ramblers halt a 23-game losing skid to non-league foes. Maggie McCloskey tallied 12 points and six helpers and Emily Ponder scored 11 of her season-high 13 points in the second period to aid the Loyola offensive attack.
Marquise Hanser leads the Ramblers in scoring with 14.8 points. Real is next at 11.6 points per game. Jennifer Juergens is first on the squad in rebounds with 5.9 per game.
THE SYRACUSE-LOYOLA SERIES
This is the first meeting between Syracuse and Loyola. The Orange have already played three schools this year for the first time. SU lost at Lehigh, 55-48, on Nov. 19, defeated UC Davis, 75-55, to win the Brown Classic hosted by Brown University on Dec. 3 and lost to Central Michigan, 74-68, on Dec. 9.
