Orange Heads To Hartford As Third Seed - Syracuse University Athletics

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS No. 3 Syracuse (23-6, 11-5) vs. No. 6 Villanova or No. 11 Georgetown
Game Details	Sunday, March 10 \| Hartford, Conn. \| 8:30 p.m. XL Center \| Tickets \| Directions
Game Coverage	BIG EAST Championship Central TV: ESPNU \| BIGEAST.TV Radio: ESPN 97.7 FM/1200 AM (Brian Higgins), WJPZ 89.1 FM Orange All Access: Listen \| Live Stats Twitter: @SyracuseWBB \| @Cuse Facebook: /SyracuseWBB
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

No. 24/21 Syracuse women's basketball (23-6, 11-5) heads to the 2013 BIG EAST Championship at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. as the No. 3 seed and a double-bye to the quarterfinals on Sunday at 8:30 on ESPNU. The Orange, with its highest seeding in 25 years, will face the winner of No. 6 Villanova vs. No. 11 Georgetown. The winner of Sunday's quarterfinal game will play in Monday's second semifinal at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
• Syracuse has its best record ever through 29 games (23-6) and posted its best BIG EAST Conference record in 25 years (11-5). The Orange is ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll and No. 21 in the USA TODAY coaches poll.

GAME COVERAGE
• Sunday's quarterfinal game will be televised on ESPNU, as will Monday's semifinal games (6 & 8 p.m.). Tuesday's championship game will be on ESPN.
• 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. All SU BIG EAST Tournament games will also be on WJPZ 89.1 FM.
• SUAthletics.com will have live audio on Orange All Access, as well as live stats.
• Follow @SyracuseWBB on Twitter for in-game updates.

BIG EAST TOURNEY HISTORY
• This is the sixth appearance in the conference tournament for the Orange under seventh-year head coach Quentin Hillsman (4-5) and its 29th overall (15-27).
• The Orange's No. 3 seed this season is its highest since being No. 1 in 1988 and tied for the second-best in program history with 1986 and 1987.
• Last season, SU was the No. 12 seed and defeated No. 13 seed Providence in the opening round, 57-47, behind 15 points and 10 rebounds by Kayla Alexander. The Orange fell in the second round to No. 6 seeded West Virginia, 63-48, despite 15 points and seven boards from Carmen Tyson-Thomas.
• In 2011, the No. 9 seed Orange beat No. 16 Seton Hall in the first round, 74-44, before falling to No. 8 seed and No. 17/19 nationally Georgetown, 61-60.
• In 2010, the ninth-seeded Orange won two games (Seton Hall and Providence) before falling to eventual national champion Connecticut in the quarterfinals.
• 2010, 2011 and 2012 marked the first time SU won BIG EAST Tournament games in three consecutive years.
• SU won its first and only BIG EAST Championship in 1985. It opened with a win vs. Pitt (56-55) before topping No. 1 seed St. John's (67-49) and No. 2 seed Villanova (57-56) to take the title.

AN ORANGE WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD...
• ...send SU to the 8 p.m. semifinal on Monday on ESPNU against the winner of No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 7 DePaul/No. 10 Marquette.
• ...Advance SU to its first semifinal appearance since 2002 (67-48 loss vs. Boston College).
• ...give SU its fifth overall BIG EAST semifinal berth (1985, 1986, 1988 and 2002).
• ...make SU 24-6 for the first time in program history, one game better than the previous best through 30 games of 23-7 in 1980-81.
• ...give SU 24 or more wins for the third time in the last four years (25 wins in 2009-10 and 2010-11).

BEST RECORD IN PROGRAM HISTORY
• Syracuse's 23-6 record is the program's best ever after 29 games, one game better than the previous best of 22-7 in 1980-81 and 2007-08.
• In the BIG EAST, Syracuse's 11-5 mark was tied for its third-best conference record ever with 1986-87. It went 13-3 in 1987-88 and 12-4 in 1985-86.
• 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.

DOME SWEET DOME
• SU has a record of 76-32 (.704) in 108 games in the Carrier Dome since moving there full-time in 2006-07.
• SU went 13-1 at home this season, tied for its best home winning percentage in program history. The Orange also went 13-1 in 1987-88.
• SU outscored its opponents at home by an average margin of 24.2 points.

ORANGE IN THE TOP 25
• SU is ranked No. 21 in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll, down one spots from last week. It peaked at No. 18 on Feb. 18, its highest ranking ever in either major poll.
• Syracuse is ranked No. 24 in this week's AP top 25 poll, down two spots from last week and three spots from three weeks ago. Its the Orange's fifth straight week being ranked. In the AP poll.

FOUR EARN ALL-BIG EAST HONORS
• Four Syracuse players were honored by the BIG EAST on Thursday as the conference announced its All-BIG EAST teams. Senior Kayla Alexander was named All-BIG EAST First Team, Brianna Butler and Brittney Sykes were named to the All-Freshman squad, and senior Carmen Tyson-Thomas was named the Sixth-Man of the Year.
• The four honorees is tied for the most ever for the No. 24/21 Orange with 2008, the year SU made its last NCAA Tournament appearance.

LAST TIME OUT
• Syracuse used a 16-0 run in the second half to defeat No. 13/14 Louisville, 68-57, on Senior Night on Monday. In their final game of their careers at the Carrier Dome, Kayla Alexander scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Carmen Tyson-Thomas notched her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Elashier Hall scored 10 points and led the team in steals with six while Shanee Williams recorded one rebound.
• Freshman Brittney Sykes also had a team-high 16 points and grabbed four rebounds. The Orange took advantage of Louisville's 20 turnovers, scoring 22 points off them.
• After 12 lead changes, SU pulled away on a 16-0 run that gave it a 53-38 lead with 8:44 left. The game-changing run lasted 5:42 and Tyson-Thomas scored five points during it, which included her second 3-pointer of the game. Hall and Rachel Coffey also connected on 3-pointers in the run.

ALEXANDER: SETTING RECORDS
• First-team All-BIG EAST 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 on Jan. 26 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 currently sits at 1,953 career points, third-most among active BIG EAST players (GU's Sugar Rodgers - 2,450, ND's Skylar Diggins - 2,229).
• Alexander had back-to-back double-doubles, her 10th and 11th of the season, averaging 23 points and 13.5 rebounds at Notre Dame (2/26) and vs. Villanova (3/2). She is the BIG EAST's active leader with 30 career double-doubles, seven more than anyone else.
• Earlier this season, she also became SU's all-time leader in field goals made, free throws made and blocks. Her 941 rebounds are second to Michael's (2007-10) school record of 996.
• She was twice named BIG EAST Player of the Week (Nov. 19, Dec. 10) and five times to the weekly honor roll.
• 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 348 to Oslander's 262.
• Alexander leads the Orange in scoring (17.3 ppg), rebounding (8.6 rpg) and blocks (3.2 bpg), ranking fourth, third and first, respectively, in the BIG EAST.

THE ORANGE ZONE
• When people think 2-3 zone, they think Syracuse, and the women's program is adding to that lore in 2012-13. The Orange is holding its opponents to the second-lowest shooting percentage in the BIG EAST (.342).
• The Orange is also proving wrong the myth that zone teams are susceptible to 3-point shooting. SU is holding its opponents to the worst 3-point shooting percentage in the league (.267).

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 fourth nationally in steals, averaging 12.9 per game.
• Syracuse's opponents are averaging 20.9 turnovers per game, resulting in a +4.03 turnover margin. The Orange is scoring 21.1 points per game off turnovers.
• SU recently had an 18-steal effort at Georgetown on Feb. 12 in which it forced 27 turnovers.
• SU set a Carrier Dome record for the second time this season, recording 22 steals vs. Providence on Feb. 2, breaking the mark of 21 steals against Boise State on Dec. 30. The Dome record prior to this season was 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 Elashier Hall (2.3), Brittney Sykes (2.1 per game) leading the way.

DOMINATING THE GLASS
• Dominant rebounding has become the norm for the Orange in recent years. Syracuse is averaging 45.0 rebounds per game, with the most impressive showing being a 61-35 advantage on Nov. 20 at St. Joe's.
• SU leads the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (18.1), ranks second in total rebounds per game (45.0), and is third in rebounding margin (+6.4).
• The Orange has turned its league-leading offensive rebounding into 17.0 second-chance points per game.
• Kayla Alexander (941) and Carmen Tyson-Thomas (890) rank second and fifth 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.

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