Syracuse University
Seton Hall University
SU in Hartford for BIG EAST Tournament - Looks to Polish NCAA Resume
3/2/2011 9:24:22 AM | Women's Basketball
BIG EAST Tournament Guide | Tournament Central
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The -/rv Syracuse University women's basketball team (21-8, 9-7) will be the ninth seed when the BIG EAST Tournament begins this week at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. The Orange will face No. 16 Seton Hall (8-21, 1-15) on Friday, March 4 at 2 p.m. The Orange finished in a three-way tie for seventh with St. John's and Georgetown, but will be seeded ninth due to tiebreaking procedure. The Syracuse – Seton Hall winner will play eighth-seeded #17/19 Georgetown (21-9, 9-7) on Saturday at noon. A second-round victory secures a quarterfinal berth and a date with top-seeded #1/1 Connecticut (29-1, 16-0) on Sunday at 2 p.m.
All Orange contests 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 for every Orange game is available on SUAthletics.com via Orange All-Access. Friday's game is available live on BIGEAST.TV. Saturday's game can be seen live on SNY and Sunday's game can be seen live on ESPNU. Live statistics for each game are also available on BIGEAST.org.
Up Next: The 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship field of 64 will be announced on Selection Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
SCOUTING SETON HALL
Seton Hall (8-21, 1-15) has lost 14 of its last 15 games, including its last five contests. The Pirates closed their regular season with a 71-47 loss to Rutgers on Tuesday night at Walsh Gymnasium.
Junior guard Jasmine Crew leads The Hall in points with 11.7 per game. Junior forward Kandice Green is next at 11.5 points per game. She also leads SHU in rebounds at 8.1 per game.
Green went down with a sprained ankle at 8/8 Notre Dame on Feb. 8. She has missed the last six contests.
Anne Donovan has used 16 different starting lineups. The first five has been the same in the past three contests.
SERIES NOTES
Seton Hall owns a 28-22 lead in the all-time series, but Syracuse holds a 6-2 advantage in the last eight meetings between the two teams, including the last three.
The Orange defeated the Pirates, 75-50, in Syracuse on Jan. 8 of this year. SU also won both meetings last season, including a 79-38 win in New Jersey during the regular season and a 65-42 victory in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.
The two teams have met in the BIG EAST Tournament on five previous occasions, with Seton Hall holding the postseason series advantage, 3-2.
The last SHU victory came in 1994, when the second-seeded Pirates defeated 10th-seeded SU, 53-41.
ORANGE VS. PIRATES IN 2010-11
Five players notched double-digits to lead Syracuse to a 75-50 victory against Seton Hall in SU's the BIG EAST home opener on Jan. 8, 2011 in the Carrier Dome.
Sophomore guard Elashier Hall led all scorers with 16 points while adding four rebounds, three assists and a trio of steals. Senior guard Erica Morrow added 15 points and four boards while dishing out three assists and sophomore guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas also netted 15 points with four rebounds.
Redshirt freshman forward Shakeya Leary controlled the paint while helping the Orange outrebound the Pirates, 53-42. Leary netted a career-high tying 13 points while grabbing 19 rebounds – which ties a single-game record for the Orange this season – and notched a career-high seven blocks. Junior forward Iasia Hemingway rounded out the double-digit scorers, adding 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
Syracuse shot 40.3 percent (25-62) from the floor, while holding Seton Hall to just 21.3 percent (13-61).
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT FACTS
This is the fourth appearance in the conference tournament for the Orange under fifth-year head coach Quentin Hillsman (2-3) and its 27th overall (13-25).
Last season, the ninth-seeded Orange won two games before losing to eventual national champion Connecticut in the quarterfinals. It marked the first time SU won a BIG EAST Tournament game since 2005 when it upset Georgetown, 68-58, in the first round.
The program recorded its first BIG EAST Tournament victory when it defeated fourth-seed Pittsburgh, 56-55, in 1985. The Orange then upset top-seed St. John's 67-49 and second-seed Villanova, 57-56, to claim SU'S only BIG EAST Championship.
Syracuse hasn't won a game in back-to-back BIG EAST Tournaments since 1985 and 1986. The Orange has NEVER won multiple games in the BIG EAST Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
BIG EAST WINNING RECORD
The Orange finished with a winning record (9-7) in the BIG EAST Conference for only the seventh time in school history - two of which have occurred in the last four years.
SU's seventh-place finish in the regular season was its best since it finished in a tie for fifth in 2007-08. Syracuse finished tied for eighth last season.
SECOND BEST RECORD
Syracuse's 21-8 record is the second-best mark the Orange has ever had after 29 games. Only SU's 22-7 record during the 2007-08, 1987-88 and 1980-81 seasons was better. This is the first time Syracuse has ever been 21-8.
20-WIN SEASON
Syracuse has recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history. SU has now posted three 20-win seasons in the last four years. Amazing when you consider the Orange only has five 20-win seasons in its 40-year history.
WINNING STREAK
The Orange won five consecutive BIG EAST games for the first time since the 1987-88 season, when the squad's streak was snapped at six.
Syracuse has put together two separate three-game BIG EAST win steaks. SU is currently on a four-game winning streak, having defeated Villanova, Louisville, St. John's and Cincinnati. The Orange defeated Marquette, Pittsburgh and South Florida in three straight games early this year.
It marks the first time since 1987-88 that SU has recorded two three-game BIG EAST winning streaks in the same season.
FINAL BIG EAST HONOR ROLL
Junior guard Iasia Hemingway was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Hemingway averaged 12.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in Syracuse's final three games of the regular season. It is her second conference honor of the season.
Hemingway recorded her team-best tying seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds in SU's 55-53 win at Cincinnati on Feb. 22.
She then posted 14 points and eight rebounds in Syracuse's 63-47 victory versus Providence on Feb. 26.
Hemingway ended the regular season with 13 points and seven rebounds at No. 1/1 Connecticut on Feb. 28.
LAST TIME OUT
Senior guard Erica Morrow scored 11 points and had three rebounds in an 82-47 loss at No. 1/1 Connecticut in the regular-season finale for both teams. Morrow now has 1,601 career points in four years. The loss snapped Syracuse's five-game winning streak.
Junior guard Iasia Hemingway led the Orange offensive effort with 13 points, giving her a team-best 22 double-digit games. Hemingway also tallied seven boards in the contest. Sophomore guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas recorded seven points and two rebounds, while sophomore center Kayla Alexander added six points of her own.
The Huskies held a 40-24 rebounding advantage to become only the fourth team to outrebound the Orange.
UConn shot 53.2 percent (33-62), while holding SU to just 35.5 percent (18-51).
