Orange Women Host WSU Friday Night

rv/rv Syracuse (10-1) vs. Washington State (3-6)
Game Details	Friday, Dec. 21 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 7 p.m. Carrier Dome \| Tickets \| Directions
Game Coverage	Radio: ESPN 97.7 FM/1200 AM (Brian Higgins), WJPZ 89.1 FM Orange All Access: Watch \| Listen \| Live Stats Twitter: @SyracuseWBB \| @Cuse Facebook: /SyracuseWBB
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
WSU Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

Preview Video

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The rv/rv Syracuse Orange women's basketball team (10-1) hosts Washington State (3-6) out of the Pac-12 on Friday at the Carrier Dome in a 7 p.m. tip-off. It is the first-ever meeting between the Orange and Cougars.

• The Orange is coming off a 68-45 victory over Binghamton last Saturday at the Carrier Dome, in which four players scored in double figures. It improved SU to 4-0 at home this season. Syracuse started the season with seven out of eight games on the road, going 7-1, including victories over ACC foes Georgia Tech (75-72 OT) and Virginia (74-73) in Puerto Rico (Nov. 23-24).

• Friday's game is the fourth of five in a row at the Dome for the Orange, running through the rest of the calendar year. Syracuse hosts Boise State on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. before opening BIG EAST play on Jan. 5 at Marquette.

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. Saturday's game will also be on WJPZ 89.1 FM.

• Orange All Access at SUAthletics.com will have live video and audio of the game, while SUAthletics.com will also have free live stats.

DOME SWEET DOME

• Syracuse has a record of 67-31 (.684) in the Carrier Dome since moving there full-time in 2006-07.

• SU is 4-0 at home this season, winning by an average margin of 35.8 points.

• Last season, SU was 9-6. The Orange was nearly unbeatable on its home court in 2010-11, posting a 20-2 record in the Dome.

NON-CONFERENCE HOME STREAK

• Syracuse has won 51 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 53-5 in his career in such games.

• The Orange went 6-0 last 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).

• In 2010-11 SU was 14-0, 12-0 in 2009-10, 8-0 in 2008-09, and 7-0 in 2007-08.

'CUSE GETS VOTES

• Syracuse is receiving votes in both the latest Associated Press (six points) and USA TODAY Coaches Poll (32 points). The Orange is just two spots out of the top 25 in the coaches' poll.

• SU received a season-high 30 points in the Nov. 26 AP poll, its first time getting votes in that poll this season, and 38 in the coaches poll, which it has received votes in every week.

SERIES HISTORY

• Syracuse has never played Washington State in women's basketball.

• The Orange men's basketball team is 1-1 against the Cougars with the last meeting being in SU's Final Four season of 1995-96. SU football is 1-0 against Washington State, winning 52-25 at Rich Stadium in Buffalo in 1979, the year the Carrier Dome was being built.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE

• The Cougars are 3-6 on the season and have lost three out of their last four, but the win was an impressive one. Washington State defeated No. 20/19 Ohio State, 62-55, last Saturday in Pullman, Wash.

• Washington State's other wins have also been at home, against Monmouth, 79-69, and BYU, 67-52.

• The Cougars began their trip east with a 75-39 loss at No. 14/13 Louisville on Tuesday.

• Freshman guard Lia Galdeira is the Cougars' top scorer at 14.8 ppg. Most of their offense runs through her as she has taken 140 shots and nobody else has more than 88. She scored 15 points in the upset of Ohio State.

• Sophomore guard Tia Presley is averaging double figures as well at 11.1 ppg.

• Ohio State alum June Daughtery is in her sixth season as head coach. She led WSU to a 13-20 record last season, including a 5-13 mark in the Pac-12.

BUTLER HONORED BY BIG EAST

• Brianna Butler was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll on Monday for her efforts in helping lead the Orange (10-1) to a 68-45 victory vs. Binghamton on Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

• The freshman guard scored 12 points in Saturday's victory that ran Syracuse's non-conference home winning streak to 51 games. Butler made a career-high four 3-pointers on eight attempts, to go along with six rebounds, four steals and two assists.

• Butler joins senior center Kayla Alexander as Orange players that have taken BIG EAST weekly honors this season. Alexander has twice been named BIG EAST Player of the Week (11/19, 12/10) and was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll once (11/26).

ORANGE TOPS BEARCATS

• Elashier Hall's 14 points led a balanced scoring attack as Syracuse cruised to a 68-45 victory vs. Binghamton (1-10) on Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome. Nine different Orange players made their way into the scoring column in a game they never trailed.

• Brianna Butler and Kayla Alexander each added 12 points, while Brittney Sykes scored 10 to give the Orange four players in double figures. Shakeya Leary, Sykes and Carmen Tyson-Thomas all had eight rebounds as Syracuse held a 50-38 advantage on the glass, including 17 offensive boards that led to a 13-2 edge in second-half points.

• Alexander blocked four shots to give the Orange's all-time leader 300 for her career, while Sykes had five steals for the second game in a row to lead a SU defense that totaled 14 swipes and held the Bearcats to 28.6 percent shooting.

• Syracuse, despite shooting 31.7 percent overall, shot 35.7 percent from 3-point range, going 10-of-28, including 4-of-8 and 3-of-6 efforts by Butler and Hall, respectively.

DOMINATING THE GLASS

• Dominant rebounding has become the norm for the Orange in recent years. Syracuse is averaging 46.0 rebounds per game, with the most impressive showing being a 61-35 advantage on Nov. 20 at St. Joe's.

• In the BIG EAST, SU is first in offensive rebounds (18.6), second in both total rebounds per game (46.0) and defensive rebounds (27.4) and third in rebounding margin (+9.7).

• SU finished second in the NCAA in rebounding in 2011-12, averaging 46.2 per game and ranked 11th in rebounding margin (+8.9).

• SU had three of the top 15 rebounders in the league in 2011-12: 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 1,673 points in 119 career games. She passed Erica Morrow's (2008-11) 1,658 for second all-time at Syracuse with 20 points in Dec. 4's 83-48 win vs. Loyola. She is 114 points behind the program's all-time leading scorer, Nicole Michael's (2007-10) 1,787.

• Alexander scored a career-high 34 points, single-handedly outscoring Wagner in SU's 66-28 win on Dec. 4. Her night included a Carrier Dome-record 14 field goals made. It was the most points scored in a game by an SU player since Nicole Michael's 36 vs. Binghamton on Nov. 22, 2009.

• 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 300 to Oslander's 262.

• Alexander passed Nicole Michael (2007-10) for the SU career record for free throws made (425) in the Orange's win vs. Georgia Tech (11/23). She has scored 453 points at the line in her career.

• Alexander, a two-time All-BIG EAST selection and preseason All-Conference honoree, leads the Orange in scoring (20.2 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg) and blocks (4.0 bpg).

ORANGE ROAD SHOW

• Syracuse opened the season by playing seven of eight games away from the Carrier Dome, going 6-1, including 4-1 on the opponent's court. SU's 4-0 away-game record in November was the best among all BCS conference teams, ahead of Arkansas (3-0) and Arizona (3-0). Its 6-0 record in neutral-site and away games combined was also the best among major conference teams.

• Going back to last season, SU played 15 out of 16 games away from home between the regular season finale on Feb. 27 and this season's eighth game on Dec. 2.

• The Orange's 10-5 record on the road in 2011-12 was the best in program history in terms of wins, surpassing seven, done most recently in 2007-08, and is the best in terms of winning percentage (.667) since 1978-79 (7-1, .875).

• In last season's WNIT, Syracuse won four consecutive away games for the first time in 22 years.

UP NEXT

• Syracuse concludes non-conference play on Sunday, Dec. 30 when it hosts Boise State at the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse University Athletics

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