#24 Women Host Seton Hall on Wednesday

rv/24 Syracuse (16-3, 4-2) vs. Seton Hall (8-12, 3-4)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 29 \| 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
Seton Hall Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The RV/24 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team (16-3, 4-2) returns home to the Carrier Dome on Wednesday to host Seton Hall (8-12, 3-4) in a 7 p.m. tip-off.
• The Orange is coming off a three-game road swing in which it lost at No. 3/2 UConn,87-62, won in thrilling fashion at St. John's, 60-57, and fell at No. 25 Villanova, 64-59.
• Kayla Alexander became SU's all-time leading scorer in Saturday's loss at Villanova, passing Nicole Michael (1,787) to finish the game with 1,791 career points. She is already SU's all-time leader in field goals, free throws and blocks.
• Syracuse, ranked No. 24 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, has been ranked for three straight weeks, reaching a peak of No. 22 last week, tying its highest ever.

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.
• As always, follow @SyracuseWBB on Twitter for live in-game updates.

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 became SU's all-time leading scorer in Saturday's game at Villanova, passing Nicole Michael's (2007-10) 1,787 points with a layup at the 1:03 mark of the first half, finishing the game with 1,791.
• 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.
• Earlier this season, she also became SU's all-time leader in field goals made, free throws made and blocks.
• She has twice been BIG EAST Player of the Week (Nov. 19, Dec. 10).
• 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 318 to Oslander's 262.
• Alexander, a two-time All-BIG EAST selection and preseason All-Conference honoree, leads the Orange in scoring (17.9 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg) and blocks (3.3 bpg), ranking second, third and first, respectively, in the BIG EAST.

HOT STARTERS
• Syracuse's 16-3 record is tied for the program's best mark after 19 games with two other seasons that came in Quentin Hillsman's tenure as head coach, 2007-08 and 2009-10.
• In the BIG EAST, Syracuse has already defeated two teams it lost to last year: Georgetown and St. John's.
• SU 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 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 non-conference regular seasons have come in Quentin Hillsman's seven seasons as head coach.

DOME SWEET DOME
• Syracuse has a record of 71-31 (.696) in 102 games in the Carrier Dome since moving there full-time in 2006-07.
• SU is a perfect 8-0 at home this season, winning by an average margin of 28.6 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.

'CUSE CRACKS TOP 25
• Syracuse is ranked No. 24 in this week's USA TODAY Coaches Poll, its third straight week being ranked.
• Last week, SU was No. 22, tying its highest ranking ever in that poll (Jan. 28, 2008 & Dec. 15, 2009). On Jan. 14, SU was No. 23, its first ranking since Jan. 31, 2011 (No. 25).
• The Orange received six votes in this week's AP poll after spending two straight weeks one spot out of the top 25.

SERIES HISTORY
• Syracuse is 24-28 all-time against Seton Hall, but has dominated the series in recent years, winning the last five in a row and going 6-2 under Quentin Hillsman.
• Last season, on Jan. 22, SU scored the game's final eight points to defeat the Pirates, 70-66, at historic Walsh Gymnasium. Kayla Alexander led SU with 23 points. Down one with 29 seconds left, Elashier Hall made the first of two free throws. Iasia Hemingway got the rebound of the second, scored and was fouled. The "4-point play" secured the victory for the Orange.
• SU is 10-11 all-time at home against the Pirates, winning the last meeting at the Dome, 75-50, on Jan. 8, 2011. The No. 23 Orange was led by 16 points by Hall, while Erica Morrow and Carmen Tyson-Thomas added 15 each.
• SHU's last win in the series came on Jan. 13, 2009 at the Carrier Dome, 70-66.

SCOUTING SETON HALL
• Seton Hall is 8-12 overall, including a 3-4 mark in BIG EAST play. The Pirates are 1-5 on the road.
• The Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak on Sunday with an impressive 45-42 victory at home over in-state rival Rutgers. Senior 5-6 guard Brittany Morris led the Pirates with 19 points.
• SHU's other conference wins came against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, while it has lost to St. John's, Marquette, Georgetown and USF.
• Seton Hall has held its opponents to an average of 59.6 points per game, but is scoring 54.9 ppg itself, 14th in the BIG EAST.
• Morris is Seton Hall's top scorer at 13.0 ppg. She has a team-high 41 3-pointers, shooting 32 percent.
• Her backcourt partner, redshirt sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons, is averaging 11.3 ppg, second on the team.
• Hall of Famer Anne Donovan is in her third season as head coach after coaching in the WNBA and USA Basketball.

SYKES HITS "THE SHOT"
• Freshman Brittney Sykes' steal and half-court shot at the buzzer gave Syracuse an amazing 60-57 victory at St. John's on Jan. 23 at Carnesecca Arena.
• With the scored tied, 57-57, and St. John's inbounding at its offensive end, Sykes stole the ball immediately after the inbounds pass from her former high school teammate, Nadirah McKenith, and shot the ball from 50 feet, just ahead of the buzzer and banked it in for the incredible win.
• Sykes amazing shot received national attention, leading ESPN's SportsCenter and taking No. 1 Play of the Day honors.
• Sykes earned BIG EAST Honor Roll recognition for her efforts in SU's two games last week, averaging 15 points and 6.5 rebounds.

SYKES EARNING ROOKIE HONORS
• Syracuse guard Brittney Sykes was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week two consecutive weeks on Dec. 31 and Jan. 7.
• The Newark, N.J. native and 2012 McDonald's All-American has come on strong recently, averaging 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds over the last seven games.
• Sykes has scored in double figures in eight out of the last 10 games, averaging 12.8 ppg, 6.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals over those 10 contests, after posting 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in the first nine.

DOMINATING THE GLASS
• Dominant rebounding has become the norm for the Orange in recent years. Syracuse is averaging 44.9 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 leads the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (18.3), is second in total rebounds per game (44.9) and third in rebounding margin (+7.9).
• Kayla Alexander (850) and Carmen Tyson-Thomas (821) rank fourth and sixth 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.

MASTER THIEVES
• Syracuse's fullcourt pressure defense and aggressive 2-3 zone in the halfcourt have resulted in the Orange leading the BIG EAST and ranking seventh nationally in steals, averaging 13.1 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).
• SU's thievery has been a balanced effort, with Carmen Tyson-Thomas (2.0 per game), Elashier Hall (2.0) and Brittney Sykes (1.9 per game) leading the way.
• Syracuse's opponents are averaging 21.7 turnovers per game, resulting in a +4.74 turnover margin.

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 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds, second on the team in both.
• 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. She hauled in a season-high 12 boards on Jan.15 vs. DePaul to go with eight points.

HALL DISPLAYS ALL-AROUND GAME
• Do-everything guard Elashier Hall has been just that for the Orange thus far in 2012-13, averaging 9.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
• She recently had a career-high tying 23-point effort vs. DePaul on Jan. 15 with six assists and five steals.
• 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.
• Hall is closing in on becoming the 23rd 1,000-point scorer in program history. She is at 976 points.
• 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 75.8 points per game, fourth in the BIG EAST.
• Coffey (20.2 minutes/game) has come off the bench in every game but one to rank fourth in the BIG EAST in assists (4.8 apg), while compiling an impressive 91-to-42 assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) that ranks third-best in the BIG EAST. She has 36 assists and just 14 turnovers over the last seven games.
• Coffey has been the top outside-shooting threat for the Orange all season, making 35 percent (25-71) of her shots from behind the arc.
• 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 (18.9 minutes/game) has started 18 of 19 games at the point. She has 30 assists against 17 turnovers (1.8 a/to ratio) over the last 10 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.
• Coffey ended the 2011-12 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.

ORANGE ROAD SHOW
• The Orange remains home to host Providence on Saturday at 1 p.m. on National Girls and Women in Sports Day at the Carrier Dome. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 1-888-DOMETIX.

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