Orange Hosts Loyola In Dome Matinee

rv/rv Syracuse (8-1) vs. Loyola (4-5)
Game Details	Saturday, Dec. 8 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 1 p.m. Carrier Dome \| Tickets \| Directions
Game Coverage	TV: Time Warner Cable Sports (Steve Infanti & Lorraine Shunck) 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
Loyola Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

WATCH: Coach Q Preview | B. Butler, Hall, Tyson-Thomas Preview

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The rv/rv Syracuse Orange women's basketball team (8-1) hosts Loyola (1-5) on Saturday at the Carrier Dome in a 1 p.m. tip-off on Time Warner Cable Sports.
• The Orange is coming off a 66-28 victory over Wagner on Tuesday at the Carrier Dome in which Kayla Alexander scored a career-high 34 points. 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) at the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico (Nov. 23-24).
• Saturday's game is the second of five in a row at the Dome for the Orange, running through the rest of the calendar year.
• Senior Kayla Alexander enters the game with 1,641 career points, 17 behind current Orange staff member Erica Morrow's (2008-11) 1,658 for second on SU's all-time scoring list. Nicole Michael's (2007-10) 1,784 points is the program record.

GAME COVERAGE
• Saturday's game will be televised live on Time Warner Cable Sports (channels 19 and 813) with Steve Infanti and Lorraine Schunck on the call. It is the Orange's first of three games on TWCS. Eight total Syracuse games are scheduled to be televised across various regional and national networks this regular season.
• 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. Sunday'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 65-31 (.677) in the Carrier Dome since moving there full-time in 2006-07.
• Last season, SU was 9-6 in the Dome.
• 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 49 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 51-5 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.

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.

'CUSE GETS VOTES
• Syracuse is receiving votes in both the latest Associated Press (four points) and USA TODAY Coaches Poll (14 points).
• SU received a season-high 30 points in last week's 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
• This will be the first-ever game between Syracuse and Loyola in women's basketball.
• The Orange is 40-15 (.727) all-time against current Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference teams.

SCOUTING LOYOLA
• The Greyhounds are 4-5 on the season and coming off a 57-47 loss at Pittsburgh on Wednesday. They had won two in a row before that, 55-53 vs. American on Dec. 1 and 60-48 vs. Lehigh on Dec. 3.
• Loyola's other wins came against UMBC (68-55) and Towson (52-44).
• Senior 5-10 guard Katie Sheahin leads the Greyhounds in scoring at 15.6 ppg, while also grabbing 5.3 rebounds per contest.
• Sheahin has hit 13 3-pointers on the season, while 6-0 junior guard Nicole Krusen (6.6 ppg) leads the team from the outside with 14 3-point field goals.
• Loyola returns four starters from its squad that went 13-17 in 2011-12, including 9-9 in the MAAC.
• Saturday's game will be a homecoming for 6-1 senior center Alyssa Sutherland, a Syracuse native and West Genesee alum.
• 1996 Loyola alum Joe Logan is in his eighth season as head coach at his alma mater.

MILESTONES REACHED VS. WAGNER
• It was a monumental game for the Orange as it defeated Wagner, 66-28, at home on Tuesday. Kayla Alexander set a career-high with 34 points, single-handedly outscoring the Seahawks, and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Carmen Tyson-Thomas joined the 1,000-point club, scoring six points to put her career point total at 1,001.
• Alexander's career-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.
• Tyson-Thomas became the 22nd Orange player to reach the 1,000-point mark and the first since Alexander reached the milestone on Nov. 26, 2011 at Binghamton.
• Lacie Hall added five points, five rebounds and three steals for the Orange. Phylesha Bullard and Shakeya Leary notched four points apiece. A total of 10 Orange made their way into the scoring column.
• The Orange took advantage 25 Wagner turnovers, scoring 18 points off them. Syracuse also scored 38 of its 66 points in the paint. Syracuse shot 36.6 percent from the floor and 73.3 percent from the foul line.

DOMINATING THE GLASS
• Dominant rebounding has become the norm for the Orange in recent years. Syracuse is averaging 45.3 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 (18.7), second in total rebounds per game (45.3) and fifth in both defensive rebounds (26.7) and rebounding margin (+8.2).
• 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 1,641 points in 117 career games. She enters Saturday's game 17 points behind Erica Morrow's (2008-11) 1,658 for second all-time at Syracuse. Alexander passed Julie McBride's (2001-04) 1,605 for third on Dec. 2 at Temple. She is 143 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 293 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 445 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 (21.1 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg) and blocks (4.11 bpg).

NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER
• Syracuse went 7-0 in the month of November this year, its fourth-straight undefeated Nov., a string of 24 in a row.
• Since 2007, Syracuse is 30-3 (.909) in November. It has not lost since Nov. 26, 2008 at Alaska-Anchorage, 58-57.

HOT IN DECEMBER
• The Orange has been almost unstoppable in the month of December in recent years. Since the 2007-08 season, SU is 34-6 in December games for an amazing .850 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.

UP NEXT
• The Orange remains home to host Binghamton on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 1 p.m.

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