Orange Vs. Colgate Moved To 12:30 P.M. Saturday

Syracuse vs. Colgate
Game Details	Saturday, Dec. 31 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 12:30 p.m. Carrier Dome Purchase Tickets
Game Coverage	TV: None Radio: ESPN 97.7FM/1200 AM, WJPZ 89.1 FM Orange All Access: Video \| Audio \| Live Stats Twitter: @suorangeempire
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule
Colgate Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse Orange women's basketball team (10-4, 0-1 BIG EAST) closes out 2011 on Saturday with a 12:30 p.m. New Year's Eve matinee against Colgate at the Carrier Dome. The game has been pushed back a half hour from the originally posted noon tip-off.
• The contest can be heard live on SU's flagship station ESPN 97.7 FM/1200 AM with Brian Higgins '04 on the call. Fans can also listen to the game on Syracuse's student station, WJPZ 89.1 FM. Live audio and video is available on SUAthletics.com via Orange All Access. Live statistics are also available on SUAthletics.com.

SERIES HISTORY
• This will be the 13th meeting all-time between Syracuse and Colgate with the Orange having won all 12 previous games.
• SU won the last meeting convincingly, 75-26 on Nov. 28, 2007 in Hamilton, N.Y. Fantasia Goodwin had a double-double with a game-high 25 points and 13 rebounds. Erica Morrow added 11 points. SU used a 24-4 first-half run to blow the game open.
• This will be the first time the teams have met in the Carrier Dome. The last time they played in Syracuse, at Manley Field House, SU won, 92-56 on Nov. 29, 2005. Vaida Sipaviciute scored a school-record 41 points.
• The teams played every season from 1973-74 to 1979-80, but did not play again until 1996-97, and after that, not again until 2005-06.

SCOUTING COLGATE
• The Raiders are 3-11 this season. After starting 0-10, Colgate has won three out of its last four. The wins have come against Wagner (71-59), NJIT (54-44) and most recently, Iona (75-50) on Thursday.
• Niagara is the only common opponent. The Raiders fell to the Purple Eagles, 61-60 on Dec. 2, while SU defeated Niagara, 81-30 on Thursday.
• The Raiders are coming off a 7-22 season in 2010-11 which included a 2-12 Patriot League mark.
• 5-4 junior guard Jhazmine Lynch leads Colgate in scoring at 14.7 ppg and shoots 40 percent from 3-point range.
• Freshman guard Mariah Jones is another outside threat, shooting 19-of-52 (36.5%) from long range.
• Former DePaul associate head coach Nicci Hays Fort is in her first season as head coach.

51-POINT WIN VS. NIAGARA
• Behind a 53 point first half, its highest in any half this season, SU coasted to an 81-30 win against Niagara (3-9) on Thursday. SU had nine players in the scoring column (three in double-figures), led by Kayla Alexander's 20 points. She also posted 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
• It was the largest margin of victory for the Orange since an 81-17 win against Delaware State last season.
• Carmen Tyson-Thomas added 15 points for the Orange, and tied a career-high with 13 rebounds en route to her 12th career double-double, and third this season.

2 OUT OF 3 IN VEGAS
• The Orange went 2-1 at the Duel In The Desert at UNLV's Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Dec. 18-20. SU opened with a 70-67 victory over 2011 Sweet Sixteen team Xavier, before falling to RV Oklahoma, 82-63. The Orange wrapped up play with a 81-70 victory over Ohio.
• Carmen Tyson-Thomas led the Orange with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Xavier victory. Elashier Hall led SU with 19 points in the Oklahoma game, and Iasia Hemingway poured in 24 points and grabbed 10 boards in the win vs. Ohio.

NON-CONFERENCE HOME STREAK
• Syracuse has won 47 non-conference home games in a row, dating back to the 2006-07 season, Quentin Hillsman's first season as head coach at SU. He is 49-5 in his career in such games.
• The Orange is 6-0 this season in out-of-conference play at the Dome.
• SU's last non-conference home loss was on Dec. 22, 2006 to Canisius (56-43).
• Last season SU was 14-0, 12-0 in 2009-10, 8-0 in 2008-09, and 7-0 in 2007-08.

DOME SWEET DOME
• Syracuse has a record of 60-26 (.698) in the Carrier Dome since 2006-07. The Orange was nearly unbeatable on its home court last season, posting a 20-2 record in the Dome.
• This season, SU is 6-1 in the Dome.
• The Orange is averaging 25 points per game more than its opponents at home (75.9-50.9).

NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER
• Syracuse posted a perfect record in November for the third consecutive year (6-0). The Orange is 23-3 (.885) in November since the 2007-08 campaign. SU's last loss in November was a 58-57 setback against Alaska Anchorage on Nov. 26, 2008.

HOT IN DECEMBER
• The Orange has been almost unstoppable in the month of December in recent years. Since the 2007-08 season, SU is 32-5 in December games for an amazing .865 winning percentage.
• Between Dec. 30, 2006 and Dec. 11, 2010, Syracuse won 26 December games in a row under Quentin Hillsman. The final win of that streak was a 75-66 upset of No. 6 Ohio State before it ended with a 77-43 loss to No. 2 Baylor on Dec. 21, 2010.

DOMINATING THE GLASS
• Dominant rebounding has become the norm for the Orange in recent years. Syracuse led the NCAA in rebounding as of the last national stats update, averaging 52.6 per game and ranked sixth in margin at +14.5 per game.
• In the BIG EAST, SU leads the conference in rebounds per game, offensive rebounds and is second in rebounding margin this season. At 50.8 rebounds per game, SU is well ahead of second place West Virginia (44.3 rpg.). Syracuse is grabbing 22.9 offensive rebounds per game, over five more than second place West Virginia (17.6).
• SU has four of the top 20 rebounders in the BIG EAST (T6. Kayla Alexander, 8.0; T6. Carmen Tyson-Thomas, 8.0; 16. Shakeya Leary, 7.1; and 18. Iasia Hemingway, 6.6.
• Syracuse led the NCAA in rebounding margin last season at +13.4 per game. SU outrebounded 31 of its 35 opponents.

ALEXANDER NETS 1,000TH POINT
• Junior Kayla Alexander scored a career-high 33 points against Binghamton on Nov. 26, giving her 1,008 points in her career. She becomes the 21st player in program history to score 1,000 points in her career and the first since Erica Morrow accomplished the feat in 2009-10.
• Alexander was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for her performance in Syracuse's first three games of the season. She averaged 18.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in the three contests. Alexander posted a double-double in SU's win against Lafayette with 20 points and a season-high 17 rebounds.
• Alexander is the Orange's leading scorer (16.1 ppg.) and tied as the top rebounder (8.0 rpg.) this season. She ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in scoring and tied for sixth in rebounding.
• Alexander is fourth on Syracuse's career blocked shot list with 194. Chris Palombi (1981-84) ranks third with 217.
• Alexander is fourth on SU's career free throws made list at 322. Next up is Julie McBride (2001-04) with 348.

HEMINGWAY SPARKS ORANGE
• Senior Iasia Hemingway has reached double figures in scoring in 11 of 14 games this season. She ranks second on the team in scoring (14.6 ppg) and averages 6.6 rebounds.
• She had a 24-point, 10-rebound performance vs. Ohio (12/20), her third double-double of the season.
• Hemingway erupted for a career-high 30 points on on 11-of-16 shooting and 8-of-11 on free throws to go along with eight rebounds to lead the Orange to victory at Boise State on Nov. 29.
• Hemingway played the first two years of her career at Georgia Tech before transfering to SU. She made the 100th start of her career on Dec. 18 vs. Xavier and currently stands at 103, 45 for the Orange.

TYSON-THOMAS MAKES IMPACT
• Junior Carmen Tyson-Thomas ranks third on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg.) and is tied for the lead in rebounding (8.0 rpg.) this season.
• The versatile swing-player has set career-highs in scoring in twice this season. Tyson-Thomas scored a career-high 21 points in SU's win against Lafayette. She improved on that performance in Syracuse's win against Buffalo, scoring a team-high 23 points. Since then she has posted 22 points against Ohio (12/20).
• Tyson-Thomas recorded her 12th career double-double against Niagara (12/29) with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
• She leads the BIG EAST in free throw shooting percentage at .909 (40-44) and is third in offensive rebounds per game (3.9).

HALL DISPLAYS ALL-AROUND GAME
• Do-everything junior Elashier Hall has shown her veratility in Syracuse's first 14 contests of the season. Hall is averaging double-figure scoring at 10.3 points per game to go along with 5.8 rebounds per contest, all while leading the team with 48 assists and 28 steals.
• Hall led the Orange with 19 points against Oklahoma (12/19), going 11-of-13 from the free throw line.

LEARY CLEANING UP THE GLASS
• Sophomore Shakeya Leary has posted double figures in rebounds coming off the bench in five contests this season. She led the Orange with 13 rebounds against Long Beach State, helping SU to a 63-42 advantage on the boards against the 49ers. Leary also had 10 rebounds against Binghamton, 10 at Boise State (11/29) and 10 vs. Xavier (12/18).
• Leary scored a career-high 14 points, grabbed nine boards and blocked four shots in 16 minutes vs. Coppin State on Dec. 10.
• Leary is averaging 7.1 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game. That equates to 16.5 rebounds per 40 minutes of action.

TAFT RECORDS CAREER HIGH
• Sophomore La'Shay Taft sparked the Orange in its victory at Binghamton on Nov. 26. She scored a career-high 22 points and tied her career-best marks in rebounds (4) and assists (3). Taft was 8-for-16 from the floor, including 6-for-13 from three-point range.
• Taft, who made her first career start in the season opener, is averaging 5.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game. Through 14 games, she has already surpassed her rebounds and assists totals from last season when she played in 30 games.

COFFEY COMING ON STRONG
• Sophomore Rachel Coffey scored a career-high 15 points on 5-of-10 3-point shooting in SU's 80-74 loss against Arizona in Hawai'i on Dec. 2. She added six rebounds and three steals in 23 minutes.
• Coffey scored nine points and dished out five assists in Syracuse's win at Binghamton (11/26). She was 3-for-6 for three-point range as SU erased an early eight-point deficit.
• Coffey has started in six of the last seven games. She is averaging 3.4 points in 14 games overall. She ranks second on the squad in assists (37) and had a personal-best six-assist performance against Ohio (12/20).

100 AND COUNTING
• Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman recorded his 100th career victory in the Orange's win against St. Francis on Nov. 18.
• In five-plus seasons at the helm of the Orange program, Hillsman has guided SU to a record of 108-69 (.610). He became the fastest coach to post 100 wins in school history.
• Barb Jacobs, the winningest coach in school history, recorded her 100th victory in her 189th game. Hillsman ranks third in career wins at SU.

ORANGE PICKED EIGHTH
• Syracuse was picked eighth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Orange received 123 points. Notre Dame narrowly edged Connecticut as the preseason favorite to win the conference title. The Fighting Irish garnered 219 points, while the Huskies were right behind with 216. Both squads received seven first-place votes. Louisville was picked third, followed by Rutgers, Georgetown, DePaul and St. John's.

ALEXANDER NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
• Junior Kayla Alexander was named to the BIG EAST All-BIG EAST Team in a vote by the league's head coaches. Alexander earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors last season after leading the Orange in scoring (14.8 ppg.), blocks (91), field-goal percentage (.549) and free-throw percentage (.766). Her 91 blocked shots led the BIG EAST and set a single-season school record. Alexander posted seven double-doubles last season and led the team in scoring in 15 games.

POST-SEASON SUCCESS
• Syracuse has played in the postseason in each of the last four years. The Orange has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) in each of the past two seasons. SU also participated in the WNIT in 2008-09 after earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2007-08. Five of Syracuse's eight post-season appearances have occurred since head coach Quentin Hillsman took over the reigns of the program in 2006-07.

MORROW BACK WITH ORANGE
• Orange fans will see a familiar face on the Syracuse sidelines this season. Erica Morrow, who graduated last spring as SU's second all-time leading scorer, is back with the program as a graduate student manager for 2011-12. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native is enrolled in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication intensive one-year broadcast journalism graduate program.

UP NEXT
• Syracuse returns to BIG EAST play on Tuesday when it opens 2012 at No. 11 Rutgers in 9 p.m. tip. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

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