Orange Faces ACC Foes In Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN SHOOTOUT
Game Details	-/rv Syracuse (4-0) vs. rv/rv Georgia Tech (2-1) Friday, Nov. 23 \| 12:00 p.m. ET Mario Morales Coliseum \| Guaynabo, Puerto Rico -/rv Syracuse (4-0) vs. rv/rv Virginia (3-0) Saturday, Nov. 24 \| 2:30 p.m. ET Mario Morales Coliseum \| Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Game Coverage	Orange All Access: Listen Radio: ESPN 97.7 FM/1200 AM Twitter: @SyracuseWBB \| @Cuse Facebook: /SyracuseWBB
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Georgia Tech Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Virginia Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The -/rv Syracuse Orange women's basketball team (4-0) heads to Puerto Rico to play in the San Juan Shootout on Friday and Saturday. The Orange will face a pair of foes from the ACC: rv/rv Georgia Tech (2-1) on Friday at noon ET and rv/rv Virginia (3-0) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET. All games will be played at the Mario Morales Coliseum in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.

• The games are the fourth and fifth of seven straight away from the Carrier Dome. for SU, who has won the first three games of the roadtrip by an average of almost 37 points.
• Syracuse is coming off road wins at Maine (68-44) on Nov. 13, at Cornell (80-35) last Friday and at Saint Joseph's (80-39) on Tuesday after opening the season on Nov. 11 with a 94-47 victory vs. Fairleigh Dickinson at the Carrier Dome.
• The Orange is coming off a 22-15 season in 2011-12, its third straight season of 22 or more wins, capped off with a four-game road winning streak in the WNIT, reaching to tournament's semfinals for the first time in program history.
• Syracuse returns four starters from a season ago, including All-BIG EAST center Kayla Alexander. Eight of the top nine scorers are back, while a freshman class of five ranked as the sixth-best recruiting class in the country by ESPN joins the ranks.

GAME COVERAGE
• All the Orange's games can be heard live on SU's flagship station, ESPN 97.7 FM/1200 AM, and on Orange All-Access at SUathletics.com with Brian Higgins '04 on the call.
• Orange All Access at SUAthletics.com will have live audio of the games.

ORANGE PICKED SEVENTH
• Syracuse has been picked to finish seventh in the BIG EAST in the annual women's basketball preseason coaches' poll, announced at the conference's media day on Oct. 18 at the New York Athletic Club. The Orange finished 6-10 last season (T-10th).
• Connecticut was chosen to finish first in the conference, followed by Notre Dame, Louisville, St. John's, Rutgers, DePaul and the Orange. Georgetown was picked eighth, with USF ninth and Villanova rounding out the top 10.

'CUSE GETS VOTES
• Syracuse is receiving votes in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll, garnering 11 points.
• SU received 10 points in last week's coaches' poll and two points in the preseason poll, the first time the Orange received votes since Dec. 5, 2011.
• The Orange received votes in the first five weeks of the coaches poll last season.

SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH
• The Yellow Jackets are 2-1 on the season and coming off home wins over Kennesaw State (80-51) and Marquette (70-62). They opened the season with a 71-54 loss at home to No. 20 Tennessee.
• Georgia Tech is receiving votes in both major polls.
• Tyaunna Marshall leads the team in scoring (16.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg).
• Dawnn Maye and Brittany Jackson are both averaging double figures as well at 15.7 and 12.3 ppg, respectively. Jackson is shooting 64 percent (9-14) from 3-point range.
• The Yellow Jackets return two starters from a team that went 26-8 in 2011-12, including 12-4 in the ACC.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA
• The Cavaliers are 3-0 on the season with wins vs. James Madison (78-57), at Penn (68-65) and vs. Providence (61-42).
• Junior 5-11 guard Ataira Franklin is the top scorer for the Cavaliers, averaging 15.7 points and shooting 56 percent from the field.
• Sophomore 6-2 forward Sarah Imovbioh (13.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg) and 5-10 junior guard Kelsey Wolfe (13.0 ppg) are both averaging double figures as well.
• Virginia does not shoot it often from 3-point range (7-30) but loves to get to the free throw line (48-65).
• They return three starters from a team that went 25-11 last season, including 9-7 in the ACC.

SU IN PUERTO RICO
• The Orange is making a return trip to San Juan after playing two games there in the 2006-07 season.
• That season, SU went 1-1, beating Loyola-Chicago on Dec. 19, 77-70, and losing to TCU on Dec. 20, 74-53.

ALEXANDER TAKES BIG EAST HONOR
• Senior Kayla Alexander was named the conference's first Player of the Week of the season on Monday for her efforts in leading the Orange to a 3-0 start.
• The senior center recorded a double-double in all three of Syracuse's first three games She is averaging 21.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocks while shooting 50 percent from the floor.
• Alexander, a two-time All-BIG EAST selection, was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad this season.

SU GROUNDS THE HAWKS
• Seniors Carmen Tyson-Thomas and Kayla Alexander poured in 23 and 20 points, respectively, to lead Syracuse to a 80-39 victory at Saint Joseph's (2-2) on Tuesday at Hagan Arena.
• The Orange controlled the game by dominating inside, outrebounding the Hawks, 61-31, and outscoring them in the paint, 36-8, while converting 28 second-chance points off 26 offensive rebounds. It was SU's first game of 60-plus rebounds since grabbing 63 against Coppin State on Dec. 10, 2011.
• Playing in her hometown, Tyson-Thomas tied her career-high in scoring and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to record her 19th career double-double in the Orange's third straight victory on the road, this time beating the Hawks who were coming off a 50-49 upset of No. 5 Maryland on Saturday.
• Alexander recorded a near-triple-double with 20 points, seven rebounds and eight blocks. She ran her career points total to 1,536, passing Felisha Legette (1,526) for fourth all-time at Syracuse.
• Freshman Brianna Butler, from nearby King of Prussia, scored eight points for the Orange, while Elashier Hall and Rachel Coffey each added seven points. Hall also hauled in 10 rebounds while Coffey dished out a game-high six assists.

ORANGE BETTERS BIG RED
• Senior Kayla Alexander recorded her third consecutive double-double to lead Syracuse to an 80-35 victory at Cornell (2-2) on Nov. 16 in Ithaca, N.Y.
• Alexander was 10-of-18 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free throw line for a season-high 26 points. She also grabbed 13 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. Alexander increased her career point total to 1,517, making her just the fifth player in school history to surpass 1,500 points in her career.
• Shakeya Leary finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, while senior Carmen Tyson-Thomas added 10 points and five rebounds.
• SU held the Big Red to just 12-for-49 from the field (.245) and caused 26 turnovers as it allowed its lowest point total since Colgate (32) on December 31, 2011.

WHAT THE ORANGE RETURNS
• Syracuse returns four starters and eight of its top nine scorers from last season. In all, the Orange has 77 percent of its scoring and 85 percent of its rebounding back from last season's 22-win team.
• The top returning scorer is senior center and Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Kayla Alexander (14.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.6 bpg).
• SU's top rebounder from last year, Carmen Tyson-Thomas (10.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg) returns for her senior campaign.
• Rounding out the three returning starting seniors is Elashier Hall (8.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.9 apg).
• Now a junior, point guard Rachel Coffey (5.6 ppg, 3.2 apg) had a breakout season in 2011-12, becoming the Orange's top outside shooting threat (.362 3fg pct.).
• SU also brings back four players that saw significant minutes off the bench, and in some cases started games, in 2011-12: Phylesha Bullard (2.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg), Shakeya Leary (4.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg), La'Shay Taft (3.9 ppg) and Shanee Williams (2.3 ppg).

WHAT'S LOST
• Syracuse lost just one starter and two total seniors from last season.
• Iasia Hemingway was SU's top scorer last year at 14.9 ppg, eighth in the BIG EAST, and averaged 6.4 rebounds per game. THe All-BIG EAST selection scored 997 of her 1,622 career points at SU.
• Troya Berry (1.4 ppg) saw action in 23 games, serving as a reliable post player for the Orange.

WHAT'S NEW
• Quentin Hillsman welcomes a five-member freshman class in 2012-13: Brianna Butler (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Cornelia Fondren (Memphis, Tenn.), Taylor Ford (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Pachiyanna Roberts (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Brittney Sykes (Newark, N.J.).
• ESPN Hoopgurlz ranked the class as the sixth-best in the country including two McDonald's All-Americans (Butler, Sykes).
• Butler, a 5-11 guard, also took Parade All-American honors after leading Nazareth (N.Y.) NYC No. 1 and national No. 3 ranking. She was ranked as the No. 13 overall player and No. 4 guard in the class by ESPN.
• Fondren, a 5-8 point guard, led Overton High to back-to-back Memphis city titles, averaging 13 points, five rebounds and six assists as a senior.
• Ford, a 6-0 forward, played with Butler at Nazareth and for the Exodus AAU team.
• Roberts, a 5-11 forward, was a multiple-sport star at McEachern High, earning Parade All-American honors and Miss Georgia Basketball after averaging 17.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.8 steals while going 33-0.
• Sykes, a member of the U.S. U19 National Team, averaged 18.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists as a senior at University High, earning McDonald's and USA TODAY All-American honors.

DOMINATING THE GLASS
• Dominant rebounding has become the norm for the Orange in recent years. Syracuse finished second in the NCAA in rebounding in 2011-12, averaging 46.2 per game and ranked 11th in rebounding margin (+8.9).
• This season, SU is averaging 49 rebounds per game, including a 61-35 advantage on the boards in Tuesday's win at St. Joe's.
• In the BIG EAST, SU led the conference in rebounds per game (46.2), offensive rebounds (20.1) and was second in rebounding margin (+8.9).
• SU had three of the top 15 rebounders in the league (7. Carmen Tyson-Thomas, 7.8; 9. Kayla Alexander, 7.5; and 15. Iasia Hemingway, 6.4.
• Syracuse led the NCAA in rebounding margin in 2010-11 at +13.4 per game. SU outrebounded 31 of its 35 opponents.

ALEXANDER: SETTING RECORDS
• Senior center Kayla Alexander has scored 1,536 points in 112 career games. She passed Felisha Legette's (1985-89) 1,526 points for fourth place all-time at SU with 20 at Saint Joseph's on Tuesday, putting her at 1,536. She is 267 points behind the program's all-time leading scorer, Nicole Michael's (2007-10) 1,784.
• Alexander became just the fifth player in SU history to reach 1,500 points with 26 at Cornell on Nov. 16.
• Alexander passed Holly Oslander (1989-94) to become Syracuse's all-time blocks leader with eight rejections in the opener vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (11/11). She now has 275 to Oslander's 262.
• Alexander is second on SU's career free throws made list at 422. She now trails Nicole Michael (2007-10) by three for the most in SU history.
• Alexander was the Orange's second-leading scorer (14.8 ppg.) and second-leading rebounder (7.5 rpg.) in 2011-12. She ranked 10th in the BIG EAST in scoring and ninth in rebounding, while leading the conference in blocked shots (96 total, 2.6 per game), breaking her own school record.

TYSON-THOMAS MAKES IMPACT
• Senior Carmen Tyson-Thomas is averaging 12.8 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 58 percent from the field through four games this season.
• The Philadelphia native recorded her 19th career double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's win at Saint Joseph's.
• Tyson-Thomas finished 2011-12 third on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg.) and led the club in rebounding at 7.8 per game, seventh in the BIG EAST, 3.7 of which come at the offensive end, fifth-best in the conference.
• The 5-9 swing player recorded double-digit rebounds 12 times in 2011-12 and began the 2012-13 season with 10 boards in the opener vs. Fairleigh Dickinson.
• Tyson-Thomas had back-to-back double-double performances in the WNIT at Drexel (3/19) and Temple (3/22), averaging 14 points and 11.5 rebounds. She had nine double-doubles on the season, giving her 18 in her career.

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