#23 Women's Hoops Hosts Niagara

No. 23/rv Syracuse (9-1) vs. Niagara (2-5)
Game Details	Thursday, Dec. 19 \| 7 p.m. ET \| Syracuse, N.Y. Carrier Dome (35,121) \| Tickets \| Directions
Game Coverage	TV: Time Warner Cabel SportsChannel (323) Watch: Orange All Access Radio: ESPN 97.7/100.1 FM & 1200 AM \| Orange All-Access Live Stats Twitter: @CuseWBB \| @cuse
Syracuse Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes
Niagara Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes

Follow @CuseWBB
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The No. 23 Syracuse women's basketball team (9-1) plays its second of three home games this week when it hosts Niagara on Thursday in a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Carrier Dome on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.

GAME COVERAGE
• Thursday's game will be the first of five to be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (323) with Mark Larson and George Straub on the call.
• All the Orange's games can be heard live on SU's flagship station, ESPN 97.7/100.7 FM and 1200 AM, and on Orange All-Access at SUAthletics.com with Brian Higgins '04 on the call. Free live stats are also available at SUathletics.com.
• The game can be watched live online in certain markets on Orange All Access at SUathletics.com.
• As always, follow @CuseWBB on Twitter for live in-game updates.

HOT START TO '13-14
• Syracuse is 9-1 for the fifth time in program history and third time in the last four years under head coach Quentin Hillsman. The mark is bettered only by starts of 10-0 in 1974-75 and 2009-10.
• The longest undefeated run to start a season was in 2009-10 when SU started 12-0 on its way to 25-11.

AN ORANGE WIN WOULD...
• ...make Syracuse 10-1 after 11 games for the third time in the last four seasons and fifth time overall. It has been 11-0 once, in 2009-10.
• ...run its non-conference home winning streak to 59 games, dating back to the 2006-07 season.
• ...make SU 9-4 all-time against Niagara, including 6-1 at home, with three-straight wins.
• ...make SU 40-7 (.851) in Dec. games since 2007-08.

SERIES HISTORY
• Syracuse is 8-4 all-time against Niagara, including 5-1 at home, with the Orange winning the last two.
• The last time the teams met, on Dec. 29, 2011 at the Carrier Dome, Kayla Alexander had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Orange to a dominating 81-30 win. Carmen Tyson-Thomas added 15 points nd 13 boards, while Iasia Hemingway had 16 points.
• The Purple Eagles' last win in the series game on Nov. 26, 2006 at the Carrier Dome, 59-54, despite a 26-point, 15-rebound effort by Nicole Michael.

SCOUTING NIAGARA
• The Purple Eagles are 2-5 on the season. They are coming off an 81-70 win vs. RObert Morris on Dec. 7 and have not played since. Niagara's other win came against Binghamton, while it has lost to Lehigh, Bowling Green, St. Bonaventure, Oakland and Kent State.
• Junior 5-10 guard Meghan McGuinness (12.3 ppg) and senior 5-10 guard Chanel Johnson (11.0 ppg) are the top scorers. McGuinness is 20-of-43 (.465) from behind the 3-point line, while Johnson leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game. Val McQuade has also been a threat from 3-point range, making 10-of-27 (.370).
• Junior 5-9 guard Kelly Van Leeuwen has been the play-maker with a team-high 29 assists to nine turnovers while averaging 6.7 points per game.
• Kendra Fuastin is in her seventh season as head coach. The Lake Superior State '01 alum has led the Purple Eagles to back-to-back seasons of a 9-9 mark in MAAC play.

NOVEMBERS TO REMEMBER
• Syracuse went 8-0 in the month of November this season, its fifth-straight undefeated opening month of the season. The Orange's November winning streak is now at 32 games.
• Since 2007, Syracuse is 37-3 (.925) in November. It has not lost since Nov. 26, 2008 at Alaska-Anchorage, 58-57.

IN THE POLLS
• Syracuse moved up two spots in this week's Associated Press Top 25, ranking 23rd with 120 points. In the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, SU is the top "receiving votes" team for the second week in a row.
• The Orange debuted in the AP poll on Dec. 2 at No. 22 with 132 points, just one spot from its all-time program-high and dropped three spots to No. 25 last week.
• SU was ranked No. 22 in both the final AP and USA TODAY Coaches polls last season. It was ranked for seven-straight weeks in the AP poll and 10-straight weeks in the coaches poll, both program records.

LAST TIME OUT
• Shakeya Leary scored a career-high 24 points to lead Syracuse to an 82-76 win over Temple (5-3) on Monday night at the Carrier Dome. Leary also contributed 13 rebounds to earn her fourth double-double of the season and had a season-best six blocks.
• Brittney Sykes scored 20 points and fellow sophomore Brianna Butler added 13 points and had a career-high five steals. Rachel Coffey scored 11 points, matched her personal best with five steals and had a season-high eight assists against the Owls.
• After Temple went on a 23-4 run in the second half run, erasing what was once an 18-point Syracuse lead to take a 57-51 lead with 11:14 remaining, the Orange responded with a 17-2 run over the next 6:41, led by three 3-pointers by Butler, to go back in front 68-59. Temple was able to pull within two with 2:46 left in the game on a Meghan Roxas 3-pointer but a 9-1 SU spurt put the home team back in front by 10, a lead that it would not relinquish.

UP NEXT
• Syracuse closes out its three-game week when it hosts Saint Joseph's on Saturday in a 1 p.m. tip at the Dome.

Syracuse University Athletics

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