Syracuse Ready to Let Loose on Lehigh

Syracuse Notes | Lehigh Notes | Live Stats

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse women's basketball team treks back to the Carrier Dome for a 7 pm tip against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Tuesday, December 2. The Orange just wrapped up a 32-point trouncing of Longwood University on Sunday afternoon at the old stomping grounds of Manley Field House which was the old home of the women's hoops team.

The second of Syracuse's five game home stand will feature live stats along with a live broadcast of the game can be heard on WTLA AM 1200 and Orange All-Access.

Looking at Lehigh

The Mountain Hawks come to Syracuse on a four-game winning streak. Lehigh is 5-1 for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Sophomore guard Erica Prosser is the Mountain Hawks leader scorer with 17.2 points per game. Leigh was picked second in the Patriot League’s Preseason Poll. Junior guard Alex Ross was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Lehigh is outscoring its opponents 312-244 with wins coming against Penn, Fairleigh Dickinson, Saint Francis (Pa.), Sacred Heart and Princeton.

Monday night's clash marks the third time the two teams have met. In 2006-07, Lehigh defeated the Orange 55-48 in Bethlehem, Pa. Last season, Syracuse overcame the loss in a 61-54 victory to even the series. This year's matchup will take place in the third venue in three seasons, as the Orange hosts the Mountain Hawks at the Carrier Dome for the first time. The first encounter was at Lehigh's Stabler Arena and last season's skirmish was at Manley Field House.

Last Time Out

Syracuse held Longwood to 27.6 percent from the floor in the 72-40 triumph on Sunday afternoon at Manley Field House. The closest the Lancers would come was seven points, but Syracuse clicked on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court for the crushing victory. SU's 76.0 percent rate from the free throw line played a key role in the win. The Orange banged around down low all day, dumping in 32 points in the paint to Longwood's 20. The Orange defense not only hindered LU's attacking percentage, it created turnovers which led to points in the transition. Syracuse scored 23 points off of stifling defense. Junior forward Nicole Michael returned to the Orange starting rotation after missing the last three contests due to injury. In her resurgence, Michael led all scorers with 14 points. The Orange canned a season-best 47.1 percent (25-51) of its field-goal attempts from the floor as well as a season-high of 45.5 percent (45.5) of its shots from behind the arc.

BIG EAST Baller

Senior forward Chandrea Jones was named to the BIG EAST honor roll for the second consecutive week. She posted her fourth double-double of the year against Longwood and. Jones averaged 18.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals in Syracuse’s three games last week. Jones recorded consecutive double-doubles against Alaska Anchorage and Longwood. She made 48.8 percent (21-43) of her field goal attempts and 75.0 percent (9-12) of her free throw attempts.

The senior began the week with a 22-point, nine-rebound effort in SU’s 85-74 win against Jackson State. Jones was 8-of-16 (.500) from the floor, including 2-of-5 from behind the 3-point line. She was also 4-of-5 (.800) from the charity stripe. Jones added four assists and three steals.

Against Alaska Anchorage, she recorded her third double-double of the season with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Jones made 50.0 percent (8-16) of her field goal attempts and 83.3 percent (5-6) of her free throw attempts. She added two assists, one block and one steal.

Jones completed the week by registering her second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. She also added two assists and two steals in SU’s 72-40 win against Longwood.

Player Pieces

Jones has been the leading force behind the Orange attack all season long. The two-time BIG EAST honor roll recipient is averaging a team-best 20.1 points per game along with a team-high tying 10.3 boards. Jones has connected on 52.5 percent of her shots (52-99) and recorded a team-best 2.4 steal per contest. In the conference, Jones' four 20-point performances rank third in the BIG EAST.

Michael's return to the starting lineup against Longwood proved to be imperative as she chalked up a game-best 14 points in company with nine boards, two dimes and two blocks. Through the four games in which she's played, she's scored in double-digits twice and recorded on double-digit rebounding performance.

Sophomore guard Erica Morrow posted her first block of 2008 against Longwood and drained two consecutive 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in the victory on Sunday. Before that, Morrow led the Orange in scoring the last four decisions. Freshman forward Troya Berry notched a career-best 11 points behind 4-of-5 shooting and 3-of-3 from the line at Manley Field House. The Flint, Mich. product is averaging 2.5 points in six games for SU. Junior forward Juanita Ward displayed her poise at the line by downing all nine of her free throw attempts against the Lancers. Ward finished Sunday with 11 points and six boards. The third-year transfer is averaging a team-high tying 10.3 rebounds a game.

Junior forward Vionca Murray matched a season-high 10 points and went 4-for-4 from the line in Sunday's win. Murray has compiled two double figure games this season. Sophomore guard Tasha Harris, one of three SU players to have started all seven games this season, matched a season-high five assists and tallied her first block of the year. Sophomore guard Marisa Gobuty doled out a career-best three assists and match a career-high with four boards in Sunday's triumph while redshirt freshman forward Chanieka Williams pulled in the first two rebounds of her SU career. Freshman guard Tyler Ash put up multiple firsts, including her initial 3-pointer of the year, a career-best three swipes and a career-high two assists.

Syracuse University Athletics

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