Orange And Hoyas Square Off In The Dome

rv/rv Syracuse (13-1, 1-0) vs. Georgetown (10-5, 1-1)
Game Details	Saturday, Jan. 12 \| Syracuse, N.Y. \| 3 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
Georgetown Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The rv/rv Syracuse Orange women's basketball team (13-1, 1-0) hosts Georgetown (10-5, 1-1) for the final time as conference rivals at the Carrier Dome on Saturday at 3 p.m. in a clash of the BIG EAST's top two scorers: Georgetown's Sugar Rodgers (25.9 ppg) and SU's Kayla Alexander (19.5 ppg).

• The game is the back end of a men's-women's basketball doubleheader at the Carrier Dome. The Orange men host Villanova at noon. Men's ticket-holders receive free admission for the women's game.
• Syracuse opened its final BIG EAST season with a 92-79 win at Marquette last Saturday after coming off a 12-1 non-conference slate, tied for the second-best in program history.
• The Orange improved to 6-0 at home with 87-48 victory over Boise State on Dec. 30. 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).

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.

HOT STARTERS
• Syracuse blitzed through its non-conference slate with 12-1 record, tied for the second-best regular season non-conference record in program history.
• The Orange's early-season schedule included seven-straight games away from home, going 6-1.
• The Orange went 13-0 in regular season non-conference games in 2009-10. This season's 12-1 mark matches 2007-08 and 2010-11.
• The top six regular season non-conference seasons have come in Quentin Hillsman's seven seasons as head coach.

DOME SWEET DOME
• Syracuse has a record of 69-31 (.690) in 100 games in the Carrier Dome since moving there full-time in 2006-07.
• SU is a perfect 6-0 at home this season, winning by an average margin of 32.5 points. The Orange is shooting 42 percent at home, while holding opponents to 30 percent.
• 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.

ORANGE ROAD SHOW
• The Orange is a combined 7-1 in away and neutral site games this season.
• 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.

'CUSE GETS VOTES
• For the seventh straight week, Syracuse is receiving votes in both the Associated Press (22 points) and USA TODAY Coaches Poll (44 points, a season-high).
• The Orange is just one spot out of the top 25 in the coaches' poll and four spots out in the AP poll.

SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday's game is the last time the Orange will host the Hoyas as BIG EAST rivals as SU heads to the ACC in 2013-14. The teams will play at Georgetown on Feb. 12.
• Syracuse is 24-31 all-time against Georgetown at home, including a 13-11 mark at home. The Orange is looking to snap a seven-game skid against the Hoyas.
• SU's last win in the series was a 68-67 victory on Feb. 26, 2008 at the Carrier Dome.
• Georgetown won both meetings last season: 69-42 on Jan. 15 at McDonough Arena and 65-62 on Feb. 25 at the Carrier Dome.
• In the first game last season, Sugar Rodgers scored 23 points to lead the Hoyas as they were 12-of-25 from 3-point range. SU was led by Iasia Hemingway's 14 points, while Kayla Alexander had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
• In the second meeting at the Dome, Rodgers' 3-point play with 39 seconds left erased a two-point SU lead as the Hoyas went on to win by three. On senior day, Hemingway led SU with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Rogers had 21 for the Hoyas.

SCOUTING GEORGETOWN
• The Hoyas are 10-5 overall, including a 1-1 mark in BIG EAST play. They are coming off a 75-48 loss at home to No. 3 Connecticut on Wednesday, snapping a three-game winning streak that consisted of victories over Yale (90-67), Temple (66-58) and Providence (79-64).
• Forcing turnovers is the name of the game defensively for Georgetown as it leads the BIG EAST by forcing 24.8 per game. They are third in steals at 13.1 per game.
• Offensively, All-BIG EAST guard Sugar Rodgers entered the week as the nation's top scorer at 26.1 points per game. She has taken more than twice as many shots as any other Hoya and is shooting 41 percent from the field and 36 percent from behind the arc. She is leads the team in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and steals (56).
• Andrea White is the only other Hoya averaging double digits at 11.1 ppg on 49 percent shooting, mostly inside.
• Keith Brown (South Carolina State '88) is in his first season as head coach after serving as an assistant for five years under Terri Williams-Flourney.

ORANGE DOWNS MARQUETTE
• Kayla Alexander scored 20 points on her 22nd birthday to give Syracuse the gift of a 92-79 win at Marquette (8-6, 0-1) in the BIG EAST opener on Jan. 5. Brittney Sykes scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Carmen Tyson-Thomas added 16 points and eight boards and Rachel Coffey scored 15 points on 5-of-8 3-point shooting.
• With its lead cut to four with 2:29 left, the Orange held the Golden Eagles scoreless the rest of the way, scoring the game's final nine points, including 5-of-6 shooting at the free throw line to seal the 13-point victory.
• Marquette was led by Sarina Morse's 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Golden Eagles lost sixth-straight to the Orange.

SYKES HONORED BY BIG EAST
• Syracuse guard Brittney Sykes has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the second time in as many weeks on Monday.
• The Newark, N.J. native and 2012 McDonald's All-American scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and recorded three steals in Syracuse's 92-79 victory at Marquette (8-6, 0-1) on Saturday night at the Al McGuire Center. She was 5-of-9 shooting from the field and went 9-of-10 at the free throw line as SU's winning streak went to six games.
• Sykes took the same BIG EAST honor on Dec. 31 after recording career-highs in points (20) and rebounds (10) to record her first double-double in the Orange's dominating 87-48 win vs. Boise State on Dec. 30. She was 9-of-13 from the floor and added three steals in the win over the Broncos.

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 second in total rebounds per game (45.3) and offensive rebounds (18.5), and third in rebounding margin (+9.6).
• Kayla Alexander (807) and Carmen Tyson-Thomas (794) rank fifth and seventh on the Syracuse career rebounding list.
• SU finished second in the NCAA in rebounding in 2011-12, averaging 46.2 per game and ranked 11th in rebounding margin (+8.9).
• Syracuse led the NCAA in rebounding margin in 2010-11 at +13.4 per game. SU outrebounded 31 of its 35 opponents.

STEAL MASTERS
• Syracuse's fullcourt pressure defense and aggressive 2-3 zone in the halfcourt have resulted in the Orange leading the BIG EAST in steals and ranking fifth nationally, averaging 13.9 per game.
• SU set a Carrier Dome record with 21 steals against Boise State on Dec. 30, breaking the old record of 20 on Dec. 14, 2008 vs. Niagara. The program record is 31 (vs. Marist on Jan. 11, 1980).
• The Orange's thievery has been a balanced effort, with Carmen Tyson-Thomas (2.1 per game), Elashier Hall (2.0) and Brittney Sykes (1.9 per game) leading the way.
• Syracuse's opponents are averaging 22.9 turnovers per game, resulting in a +5.36 turnover margin.

ALEXANDER: SETTING RECORDS
• Senior center Kayla Alexander continues to rewrite the SU record book as she cements herself as one of the greatest players in program history. She has scored 1,724 points in 122 career games, 76 behind Nicole Michael's (2007-10) program record of 1,787.
• 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.
• 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 305 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 464 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 (19.5 ppg), rebounding (8.1 rpg) and blocks (3.5bpg).

TYSON-THOMAS MAKES IMPACT
• Senior Carmen Tyson-Thomas became the 22nd Orange player to reach the 1,000-point mark in SU's 66-28 win vs. Wagner on Dec. 4. On the season she is averaging 10.9 points and 5.9 rebounds.
• The Philadelphia native recorded her 19th career double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Nov. 20's win at Saint Joseph's. She had a team-high 18 points in her hometown against Temple on Dec. 2.
• 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.

HALL DISPLAYS ALL-AROUND GAME
• Do-everything guard Elashier Hall has been just that for the Orange thus far in 2012-13, averaging 9.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
• She had a 13-point, seven-rebound, three-assist, three-steal game vs. Washington State on Dec. 21.
• Hall was the star for the Orange in its two wins in Puerto Rico at the San Juan Shootout (11/23-24), recording the fifth double-double of her career with 15 points and 11 rebounds vs. Georgia Tech and poured in 17 points, including the game-winning free throws with .4 seconds left vs. Virginia.
• Despite playing much of the latter half of last season on an injured knee, Hall finished strong, averaging 12.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in the final four games of the WNIT. She scored 18 in the semifinals at JMU (3/28) after three-straight 11-point outings.

1-2 POINT GUARD TANDEM
• The point guard tandem of freshman Cornelia Fondren and junior Rachel Coffey have been very effective in running the Orange offense, which is averaging 77.8 points per game, third in the BIG EAST.
• Coffey (19.7 minutes/game) has come off the bench in every game but one and ranks third in the BIG EAST in assists (4.8 apg), while compiling an impressive 67-to-29 assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) that ranks third-best in the BIG EAST. She has 12 assists and just one turnover over the last two games (Boise State, Marquette).
• Coffey had her first career double-double at Temple on Dec. 2, dishing out a career-best 10 assists and scoring 11 points in a season-high 37 minutes.
• Fondren (19.1 minutes/game) has started 13 of 14 games at the point. She has 19 assists against 10 turnovers (1.9 a/to ratio) over the last five games, including a career-high six-assists with just one turnover vs. Loyola on Dec. 8.
• The rookie played well against ACC competition in the Orange's wins in Puerto Rico, averaging four assists per game.
• Fondren has been a selective, yet effective, shooter from the outside for SU. She is 4-of-8 from 3-point range this season.
• Coffey was the catalyst for SU in the postseason in 2011-12. She averaged a team-best 13.3 points and 5.5 assists per game in SU's four WNIT wins, along with 48 percent shooting from 3-point range (11-23).
• Coffey ended the regular season on fire from the outside, shooting 24-of-52 (.462) from 3-point range in the last 10 games of the regular season, while averaging 3.2 assists per game in that stretch.

UP NEXT
• The Orange remains home to host DePaul on Tuesday at the Carrier Dome in a 7 p.m. tip on Time Warner Cable Sports.

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