Orange Hosts Panthers on Senior Day

Syracuse (19-8, 8-6 ACC) vs. Pittsburgh (11-16, 3-10)
Game Details	Sunday, Feb. 23 \| 1 p.m. ET \| Syracuse, N.Y. Carrier Dome (35,446) \| Tickets \| Directions
Game Coverage	TV: None Watch: CuseTV Radio: ESPN 97.7/100.1 FM & 1200 AM \| Cuse.com Live Stats Twitter: @CuseWBB \| @cuse
Syracuse Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes
Virginia Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats \| Game Notes

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse women's basketball (19-8, 8-6 ACC) hosts its final home game of the regular season on Sunday when Pittsburgh comes to the Carrier Dome for a 1 p.m. tip-off. Seniors Phylesha Bullard, Rachel Coffey, Shakeya Leary and La'Shay Taft will be honored in a ceremony prior to the game.

GAME COVERAGE

• The game will be webcast on CuseTV at Cuse.com.

• All games can be heard live on SU's flagship station, ESPN 97.7/100.7 FM, 1200 AM, and on Cuse.com with Brian Higgins '04 on the call.

• Free live stats are available at Cuse.com.

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

ORANGE STRONG IN '13-14

• An aggressive non-conference schedule, paired with a challenging ACC slate has helped the Orange achieve a No. 23 ranking in the latest official NCAA RPI ratings, released on Feb. 17.

• The Sagarin/CBN Ratings have SU 18th with the No. 5 strength-of-schedule. • 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.

KIDS CARNIVAL

• Syracuse will be hosting a carnival for kids in the backcourt area of the Carrier Dome for Sunday's game. Activities include, face painting, sign-making stations, games, contests and more! The carnival is free with admission to the game.

STANDINGS WATCH

• At 8-6, Syracuse is sixth in the ACC standings. Just ahead of the Orange tied for fourth at 9-4 are North Carolina, who SU holds a tiebreaker on by virtue of its 76-70 win on Jan. 12, and Maryland, who beat SU twice. Right behind SU are seventh-place Georgia Tech (7-6) and eighth-place Virginia (6-7), both teams the Orange has beaten and would hold a tiebreaker over.

• Both of the Orange's remaining opponents are under .500 in ACC play: Pitt (3-10) and Wake Forest (5-8).

• The top nine teams receive a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament, while the top four receive double-byes.

SENIOR CLASS TO REMEMBER

• Syracuse's senior class of Phylesha Bullard, Rachel Coffey, Shakeya Leary and La'Shay Taft come into their Senior Day with the second-most wins of any class in program history with 90, trailing only last year's seniors (96 wins). They are 90-41 (.687) overall.

• The class has gone to three-straight postseasons, including last years NCAA Tournament appearance.

• They have been at their best at the Carrier Dome, going 53-12 at home.

AN ORANGE WIN WOULD...

• ...give SU 20 wins for the fifth-straight season and eighth time overall.

• ...guarantee the Orange a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament.

• ...sweep the season series with Pitt and give SU its sixth-straight win vs. the Panthers.

• ...give SU a record of 12-3 at home this season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Syracuse leads the all-time series with Pittsburgh, 31-19, including a 19-7 record at home. The Orange has won five in a row vs. Panthers.

• As they join the ACC together this season, the Orange and Panthers have played every season since 1979-80.

• Brittney Sykes scored seven of her team-high 15 points in the final 2:27 to lead SU to a 58-47 win at Pitt on Jan. 19 at the Petersen Events Center. Brianna Butler added 14 points, while Briana Day and Taylor Ford had double-doubles. In a game dominated by the defenses, Syracuse benefited from a 22-12 scoring advantage in the paint as it out-rebounded the Panthers, 47-39.

• Last season, on Feb. 16, Kayla Alexander had 18 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks to lead SU to a dominating 80-39 win at the Carrier Dome in their final meeting as BIG EAST rivals. La'Shay Taft added 11 points, while Brittney Sykes and Carmen Tyson-Thomas had 10 each. SU scored 27 points off 23 Pitt turnovers.

IN THE POLLS

• Syracuse was previously ranked for five straight weeks in the AP poll and a total of three weeks in the coaches poll this season.

• 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 on Dec. 23.

• The Orange debuted in the AP poll on Dec. 2 at No. 22 and was ranked for four-straight weeks.

LAST TIME OUT

• Brittney Sykes' dominant second half performance led Syracuse to a 69-48 win over Miami on Thursday night in the BankUnited Center. Sykes scored 13 in the final 20 minutes including six in the first 1:38 of the second half to help the Orange pull away.

• SU entered halftime with a three-point lead after having trailed Miami by as much as eight to start the game but the Orange scored nine points to start the second half to take control and not look back.

• Shakeya Leary recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. The senior center also added four blocks and three steals. La'Shay Taft rounded out SU's double-digit scorers with 11 points, going 3-of-5 from long range, for her third-straight double-figure game. Rachel Coffey dished out a game-high eight assists to go with her seven points.

ORANGE UPSETS #6 TAR HEELS

• Brianna Butler scored 17 of her game-high 22 points in the second half as Syracuse came back from an 18-point deficit to upset No. 6 North Carolina (17-4, 5-2 ACC), 78-73, on Jan. 30 at Carmichael Arena. SU outscored the Heels, 46-23, over the final 18:40.

• Brittney Sykes added 17 points, while Briana Day had 11 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

• The only higher ranked team Syracuse has ever defeated were No. 2 Connecticut, 62-59, on Jan. 2, 1996 at Manley Field House. It matches the Orange's 75-66 win over No. 6 Ohio State on Dec. 11, 2010 at the Carrier Dome as the highest ranked team beaten in head coach Quentin Hillsman's tenure.

WINS VS. RANKED TEAMS

• Syracuse's come-from-behind 78-73 upset win at No. 6 North Carolina on Jan. 30 is the highest ranked road win in program history and is tied for second overall.

• SU's 15-point win over the No. 12/11 Texas A&M on Nov. 30 is the fifth-highest ranked opponent the Orange has ever beaten.

• Four of the top five ranked teams SU has ever beaten have come in Quentin Hillsman's tenure.

MASTER THIEVES

• With an aggressive fullcourt press and trapping 2-3 zone defense, the Orange boasts the second-best turnover margin in the ACC (20th nationally) at +5.2 and has produced an average of 21.7 points per game this season off its opponents' 19.7 turnovers per game.

• SU has scored 20 or more points off turnovers in five of its last nine games, including 28 at BC last Sunday.

• Syracuse scored a season-high 53 points off 31 turnovers in its 113-42 win vs. Maryland Eastern Shore. SU totaled 18 steals by nine different players.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

• SU features some of the top ball-handling play-makers in the ACC. The last two games have marked its fewest turnovers all season, just six at BC and seven at Miami.

• Point guard Rachel Coffey has the ACC's best assist-to-turnover ratio in conference play at 3.0 (54-18) and overall at 2.1 (111-52).

• Brianna Butler has the second-best ratio on the team at 2.0 (71-36), which would be fourth in the ACC if she had enough assists to qualify.

• SU surrenders just 14.7 ppg off its turnovers, resulting in a +7.0 margin in points per game off turnovers.

CRASHING THE GLASS

• SU is second in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game at 16.7, grabbing 40 percent of the opportunities.

• The Orange has turned the offensive boards into 13.2 second-chance points per game.

• Last season, SU led the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (17.6), ranked second in total rebounds per game (44.0), and was fourth in rebounding margin (+5.5).

UP NEXT

• Syracuse closes the regular season on Sunday, March 2 when it plays at Wake Forest in a 2 p.m. tip. The Orange will then compete at its first ACC Tournament on March 5-9 in Greensboro, N.C.

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