Syracuse University
Georgetown
Round Two against Rival Georgetown
2/20/2009 2:04:06 PM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch/Listen Live | Live Stats
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The women's basketball team (15-10, 4-8) looks to put an exclamation point on the final stretch of the regular season with a rematch against arch-rival Georgetown on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. Sunday's contest will be the 50th meeting between these two programs. The game can be seen live on SUAthletics.com via Orange All Access. It can also be heard live on SUAthletics.com via Orange All Access, WTLA AM 1200 and WJPZ FM 89. Live stats will be available on suathletics.com.
After a big win at St. John's last Saturday, 79-78, the Orange was beaten by a persistent DePaul perimeter attack on Tuesday night, suffering an 87-79 loss. The Blue Demons drained 14-of-34 3-pointers to aid in the win.
'Cuse Kids Club members get into Sunday night's game free with their membership card.
Second Go-Round with Georgetown
The first Syracuse-Georgetown encounter marked each squad's first BIG EAST game of the season back on Jan. 3 in Washington, D.C. The Hoyas escaped with an 80-73 victory, but has gone 5-6 in the remainder of its conference slate. Georgetown is 16-10 overall and has defeated its last three league opponents. In GU's last outing, the Hoyas outlasted West Virginia in a 79-73 overtime affair after taking out Providence (57-55) and Cincinnati (69-61).
Senior guard Karee Houlette is averaging a team-best 10.8 points per game with her main avenue of scoring coming from behind the 3-point line with a 41.3 percent (50-121) clip this season. Freshman guard Adria Crawford leads Georgetown with 5.9 rebounds per game and is tied for a team-high 1.5 steals per outing. Junior forward Jaleesa Butler is the Hoyas second-leading scorer and rebounder with 9.4 points and 5.0 boards per trip, respectively.
This season's initial meeting between the two adversaries marked a break-point in the overall series. Before tipping off on Jan. 3, Syracuse and Georgetown each had 24 wins against one another, but the Hoyas' victory busted up the standoff. With the 50th game between the two schools on the horizon, a Syracuse triumph would knot the overall mark at 25-25.
Earlier this Season…
The rivalry lived up to its billing in the first meeting this season as the Orange charged back from an 18-point first-half deficit to tie the game, but Syracuse's late push could not overcome the Hoyas on their home court, 80-73.
Sophomore guard Erica Morrow scored a career-high 29 points in the setback, marking her eighth 20-point performance of the season. Morrow went 7-of-18 from the field, but connected 5-of-10 3-point attempts. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native also put 10 free throws through, tying a career-high. Senior guard Chandrea Jones totaled 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds in 37 minutes of play while junior forward Nicole Michael tallied 10 points, five boards and tied a career-high with four blocks.
The Orange was facing an 18-point deficit, 27-9, with 2:29 remaining in the first half. Syracuse's offense showed signs of life in the last few minutes of the half as the Orange responded with an 11-7 advantage. Morrow drained five points and freshman forward Troya Berry, Jones and Murray each accounted for two points to close out the first half, 31-18, in favor of Georgetown.
Syracuse whittled the Hoyas lead down to a one-possession game, 37-34, at the 16-minute mark. Syracuse squashed the deficit at 8:34 of the second half when Morrow tied the ball game, 52-52, by knocking down a couple free throws. Jones catapulted the Orange with six points in the 9-4 run in favor of Syracuse. The Hoyas went on the offensive and outscored Syracuse 15-9 in the remaining portion of the game for the 80-73 victory.
Orange Tidbits
The Orange's 79-78 victory at St. John's on Valentine's Day guaranteed that SU would finish the regular season with a winning record. Syracuse has now posted back-to-back winning regular seasons for the first time since the Orange posted seven straight from the 1983-84 season through the 1989-90 season. SU's win also made the Orange postseason eligible for the second consecutive year. Syracuse has never played in the postseason in back-to-back years.
SU is 8-5 at home this season (7-5 in the Carrier Dome and 1-0 in Manley Field House). Syracuse has won 21 of its last 28 home games, including 19 of its last 26 played in the Dome
Jones registered 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds against rv/rv DePaul on Feb. 17. It was her third double-double in four games and fifth in last seven. It was also her team-best ninth of the season (tied for fourth in the BIG EAST) and 17th of her career with ranks tied for ninth on SU's career charts. She added a game-high tying four steals and three assists in her 33 minutes of action. She has scored in double-figures a team-high 22 times, including the last eighth (eighth in the BIG EAST), and has led SU in scoring on seven occasions (tied for team best). Jones has also led SU in rebounding a team-best 12 times. She has led the team in steals 10 times, blocks on eight occasions and assists three times.
The Baltimore native's 13 career 20+ point games ranks tied for fourth all-time at SU and her eight 20+ point games this season are tied for fifth on SU's single-season list. She is also tied for seventh in the BIG EAST for 20+ point games this year.
