Michael Honored for Magical Week

Nicole Michael ended her sensational rookie season with the Orange by rewriting the Syracuse record books. She nearly single-handily led Syracuse to the BIG EAST Tournament and for her extraordinary performances, the four-time Freshman of the Week was named to the conference’s honor roll.

Michael averaged 21.0 points per game and 9.3 rebounds during Syracuse’s last three games and during the seven-day stretch, Michael put her name among the best to ever play at Syracuse.

Michael’s week opened with a 15-point, 10-rebound performance against DePaul. Her performance was the eighth time that she posted a double-double during her rookie season. Michael then followed that showing with 17 points and 12 rebounds against nationally-ranked Louisville. Her 17 points raised her season total to 470 points, breaking the single-season freshman scoring record. Michael’s point total topped Martha Mogish’s mark of 469 points during the 1977-78 season. Mogish’s record was the second-longest standing record in school history.

Michael saved her best performance for last. Against the Cincinnati Bearcats, Michael scored a career-best 31 points and set the single-season school record with 501 points. She topped the previous record of 488 points by Holly Oslander and became the first player in the program’s history to eclipse the 500-point plateau. Michael also connected all 12 of her free throws against the Bearcats, becoming the fourth player in school history to make all of her free throws with at least 10 attempts.

Not only did Michael record the most points in school history, but the freshman set school records for free throw makes and attempts. She made 156 shots from the charity stripe of 220 attempts, easily surpassing the previous marks of 118 makes and 166 attempts. Michael also posted 248 rebounds during her rookie campaign, which ranks ninth in school history.

Michael’s numbers not only put her among the elite in Syracuse history, but they were also good to put her among the best in the challenging BIG EAST Conference. The freshman sensation ranked sixth in the conference with 17.3 points per game and seventh with 8.6 rebounds. Her points per game were also top for freshman, while her rebounds per game ranked second among rookies.

Syracuse University Athletics

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