Orange Faces #6 Terps on the Road

rv/rv Syracuse (12-4, 1-2) at No. 6/6 Maryland (14-1, 2-0)
Game Details	Thursday, Jan. 16 \| 8:30 p.m. ET \| College Park, Md. Comcast Center (17,950)
Game Coverage	TV: ACC Regional Sports Network \| Affiliates List Watch: ESPN3 Radio: ESPN 97.7/100.1 FM & 1200 AM \| Orange All-Access Live Stats Twitter: @CuseWBB \| @cuse
Syracuse Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes
Maryland Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse women's basketball (12-4, 1-2 ACC) travels to Maryland to face the No. 6 Terrapins (14-1, 2-0 ACC) on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at the Comcast Center.

GAME COVERAGE
• Thursday's game will be televised live on the ACC Regional Sports Network with Mike Hogewood and Christy Scott on the call. In New York State the game will air on the YES Network (TWC 53/321, Directv 631, FiOS 76/576).
• 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.
• As always, follow @CuseWBB on Twitter for live in-game updates.

HOT START TO '13-14
• Syracuse went 11-2 in its non-conference schedule, the seventh time in program history the Orange was 11-2 or better after 13 games.
• Its current 12-4 mark is the seventh-straight season under Quentin Hillsman that SU has been 12-4 or better 16 games into the year.
• The Orange has outscored its opponents by an average of 16.2 points, scoring 78.4 points per game while allowing just 62.2.

AN ORANGE WIN WOULD...
• ...be its first road ACC victory.
• ...tie for the second-highest ranked opponent Syracuse has every beaten.
• ...mark the highest ranked opponent Syracuse has ever beaten on the road.
• ...make it 1-2 all-time vs. the Terrapins.
• ....make SU 6-4 vs. teams that are ranked or receiving votes this season.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Orange and Terrapins have met just twice previously with Maryland winning both, the most recent of which was 30 years ago.
• Maryland defeated Syracuse, 74-49, on Jan. 11, 1984 at Cole Field House. Two years earlier, on Jan. 16, 1982, the Terps won, 69-57, in the Orange Plus Classic at Manley Field House.
• Maryland is one of two ACC teams SU plays twice this season (Pittsburgh being the other). The Terps come to the Dome on Feb. 2.

SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
• Maryland is 14-1 overall and is off to a 2-0 start to the ACC season.
• The Terrapins are ranked No. 6 in both the AP and USA TODAY coaches polls. It was 21st in the first official NCAA RPI announced last week.
• Maryland opened ACC play on Jan. 5 with a 79-70 win at No. 10/11 North Carolina before returning home to beat Wake Forest on Jan. 9, 76-49.
• The Terps' lone loss of the season was back on Nov. 15 at home vs. No. 1 Connecticut, 72-55. They have won 12-straight since then.
• No. 1 UConn and No. 10/11 UNC were the only ranked teams the Terps have faced.
• Maryland is one of the top rebounding teams in the country, leading the ACC and ranking third nationally in rebounding margin (+15.2).
• The Terrapins are the third-best 3-point shooting team in the ACC (.380) and holds their opponents to the worst percentage behind the arc (.256).
• All-ACC senior forward Alyssa Thomas leads the ACC in rebounding (11.0 rpg) and is ninth in scoring (17.4 ppg). Her 13 double-doubles leads the nation.
• Freshman 5-11 guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough is second on the team in scoring at 11.7 ppg and is shooting an impressive 52.9 percent (18-34) from 3-point range.
• Brenda Frese is in her 13th year at Maryland and is coming off a 26-8 season in 2012-13 in which it advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

IN THE POLLS
• Syracuse dropped out of both the AP and USA TODAY Coaches top 25 polls last week and received 10 points in the AP and 21 in the coaches poll this week.
• The Orange was ranked an all-time program high 20th in the Dec. 23 and Dec. 30 AP polls. It was as high as No. 23 in the coaches poll three weeks ago.
• The Orange debuted in the AP poll on Dec. 2 at No. 22 and was ranked for four-straight weeks.
• SU ranked 17th in the first official NCAA RPI of the season on Jan. 7. It is 14th as of Jan. 10, according to RealTimeRPI.com.

LAST TIME OUT
• Brianna Butler tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points to lead Syracuse to a comeback 76-70 win over Georgia Tech (11-5, 1-2 ACC) and earn its first-ever ACC win on Sunday afternoon in the Carrier Dome.
• Syracuse outscored Georgia Tech, 21-7, over the final 6:29 in a game that saw 12 lead changes and six ties.
• Brittany Sykes scored 10 points to close the second half, helping the Orange comeback from an eight-point deficit with 7:21 to play. Sykes finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Shakeya Leary rounded out SU double-digit scorers with 10 points and had eight rebounds.
• The Orange dominated in transition, outscoring the Jackets, 30-7. Syracuse edged Georgia Tech in the paint, tallying 32 points to the Jackets' 30.

HOME AGAIN
• This game will be a homecoming of sorts for several of the Orange, with head coach Quentin Hillsman, assistant coach Kelley Gibson and four players on the roster with ties to Maryland.
• Hillsman is from nearby Suitland, Md. and played his college basketball at St. Mary's College of Maryland.
• Gibson starred at Maryland from 1995-99, earning All-ACC in 1999 and All-Rookie in 1996 before a successful career professionally in Europe and the WNBA.
• Senior guard La'Shay Taft is from Baltimore, where she starred for Baltimore City College.
• Sisters Tiara and Tasia Butler are from Waldorf, Md. where they experienced tremendous success at North Point High School.
• Transfer Maggie Morrison is from Millersville and played high school ball at Archbishop Spalding in Severn.

MASTER THIEVES
• With an aggressive fullcourt press and trapping defense, the Orange boasts the best turnover margin in the ACC (13th nationally) at +6.5 and has produced an average of 23.7 points per game this season off its opponents' 20.7 turnovers per game.
• In its three wins at the Paradise Jam, the Orange forced at least 20 turnovers by its opponents each game.
• SU ranks sixth in the ACC with 9.8 steals per game.
• Syracuse scored 53 points off 31 turnovers in its 113-42 win vs. Maryland Eastern Shore. SU totaled 18 steals by nine different players.
• SU's 2012-13 opponents averaged 20.3 turnovers per game, resulting in a +3.94 turnover margin. The Orange scored 20.5 points per game off turnovers.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
• Also aiding the ACC-best turnover is the fact that Syracuse has turned the ball over fewer times than any other team in the conference (14.3 to/g).
• SU surrenders just 13.4 ppg off its turnovers, resulting in a +10.3 margin in points per game off turnovers.
• Brianna Butler boasts the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the team, 36-to-10.

UP NEXT
• The Orange is back on the road this weekend when it heads to Pittsburgh for a 2 p.m. ACC game on Sunday that can be watched on ESPN3.com and the Watch ESPN App.

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