SHU Welcomes Syracuse Orange to the Pitt Center - GAME NOTES
12/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 27, 2004
Complete Sacred Heart vs. Syracuse Game Notes in PDF Format
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GAME 9 Syracuse University (6-3, 0-0 Big East) vs. Sacred Heart University (3-5, 1-0 NEC)Tuesday, December 28, 2004 1:00 pm EST William H. Pitt Center (2,100) Fairfield, CT Officials: John Palermo, Billy Sacco, Rachelle Jones
The Storyline... The Pioneers are looking to halt a four-game slide as they play host to the Syracuse Orange Saturday afternoon in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. After a 78-43 loss at Richmond last time out, Sacred Heart is looking to get back on track with just two non-league games left on the slate, today against the Orange and next Monday against Brown University. The Pioneers return to Northeast Conference play next Thursday when they travel to Monmouth. SHU needs a spark offensively after shooting a combined 32.8% during their recent losing streak and a season-low 26.2% in their loss to the Spiders last Saturday.
TV/Radio/Internet: Tonight's game will be broadcast live on WHRT 91.5 FM. Jeff Holtz, the voice of Pioneer athletics, and Gene Gumbs, SHU Assistant Athletic Director for Communication, will call the action. The game can also be heard on the Internet through the Sacred Heart University website, SacredHeartPioneers.com, and clicking on the audio link on the schedule at the bottom of the front page.
Series... Today's game marks the first time the Pioneers and Orange will meet on the hardwood.
Scouting the Orange.... The Syracuse Orange women's basketball team enters today's game with a 6-3 record after opening the season at 5-0. The Orange have lost three of their last four including a 48-35 loss to Auburn last time out. Two players average double figures for Syracuse in senior Chineze Nwagbo and sophomore Lauren Kohn. Nwagbo is averaging 12.7 points per game and also leads the squad in rebounding at 8.0 boards per contest. Kohn is scoring 10.6 points and is the team's top shooter from behind the arc at 45.2% (19-42). Freshman Sara Antolick has done a nice job for the Orange coming off the bench. Antolick averages 7.7 points and 7.7 rebound per game on the year. Syracuse needs just one more win to eclipse their win total of last season (6-21). The Orange are making the state of Connecticut their second home this season, with two trips already in the books and two more on the slate after today's game. The Orange have already defeated Yale and Quinnipiac this season, both by the score of 65-61, and will travel to UConn and the Big East Tournament in Hartford later this year. Syracuse was picked to finish ninth in the 12 team Big East in the 2004-05 Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Coaches... Ed Swanson (SHU '89) enters his 15th season as head coach at his alma mater. Swanson posts a 215-181 record in his career at Sacred Heart. His teams have an 88-62 record since joining the Division I ranks in 1999-00. Swanson is the program's longest tenured coach and is the all-time leader in coaching wins, (215) and winning percentage (.543). He also earned his first ever NEC Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year award after guiding SHU to a school record 21 wins last season. Keith Cieplicki (William & Mary `85)) is in his second season at the helm of the Syracuse women's basketball program. He has compiled a 12-24 record in his two years at Syracuse and is 138-77 in his eight years as a head coach.
Pioneers vs. The Big East... Sacred Heart is 1-8 all-time against teams from the Big East Conference. The Pioneer's lone win came against Boston College, 60-48, during the 1979-80 season. SHU is 0-8 since then with a loss to BC last year along with losses to Seton Hall (0-3), Providence (0-1), Pittsburgh (0-1) and Georgetown (0-2).
Streak at the Pitt Halted... The Pioneers carried the seventh longest home winning streak in the nation (19-straight) into their meeting with Hofstra earlier this season. The Pride halted any SHU hopes of 20 in a row with a bucket with just two seconds remaining to steal a 67-66 win and end a streak that dated back to the 2002-03 season. Their last regular season loss was to St. Francis (PA) in February of 2003 (66-63 OT). By losing to Iona in their next game, Sacred Heart has now lost two-straight at home for the first time since 1998-99. SHU is 54-14 at home since joining the NEC and 74-16 since the building opened in 1997. The Pitt Center currently ranks 11th in the nation as the toughest arena for opponents to earn a win.
Pioneers Logging Major Minutes... Three Pioneers are currently averaging over 30 minutes per contest this season. Sophomore Amanda Pape leads the team logging 37.5 minutes per game. She is followed by sophomore Kerri Burke at 35.9 minutes, junior Nicolle Rubino at 34.8 minutes. Senior Colleen White isn't far behind at 28.1 minutes per game this year. Pape has played all 40 minutes twice and 38 minutes in three games this season. Burke has seen a major spike in her minutes since the injury to Allie Bagnell in game two. Burke hasn't played less than 37 minutes in any of the six games since then and has logged 40 minutes on two occasions.
SHU Caught the Injury Bug... The Pioneers have been forced to play with a very short bench due to a rash of injuries. SHU is able to dress just eight players due to injuries to senior Allie Bagnell, sophomore Mary Rush and freshman Jocelyn Kelly. Bagnell went down in the second game of the season with a knee injury and could come back later in the season. Rush started the year with an ankle injury and is now working her way back into playing shape. Kelly suffered a foot injury early in the year and is out for the near future.
Losing Streak... Sacred Heart enters today's game trying to snap a four-game losing streak, their longest skid in their five years at the Division I level. Their last four-game losing skid occurred during the 1998-99 season when they dropped games to Virginia Commonwealth, Dartmouth, Rhode Island and Harvard. The last time they lost five-straight was during the 1995-96 season when they ended the year with five consecutive losses.
SHU's Offensive Triple Threat... The Pioneers are among the Northeast Conference leaders in scoring offense at 61.4 points per game thanks to the tremendous scoring output of junior Nicolle Rubino and sophomores Amanda Pape and Kerri Burke. The trio have combined to average a collective 39.5 points this season or roughly 64% of SHU's offensive production. Pape leads the team and is fifth in the NEC at 14.3 points per game. She is followed by Rubino at 13.3 points per contest and Burke at 11.9 points.
Excellence at the Charity Stripe... The Pioneers are at the top of the NEC in free throw shooting, hitting 72.9% (94-129) from the line. SHU also boasts three players in the top-10 in the league in Kerri Burke (81.5%), Nicolle Rubino (80.0%) and Amanda Pape (65.0%).
Pressure Defense... Sacred Heart's full-court pressure defense has been a staple early on this season. The Pioneers lead the league in takeaways with 91 and an 11.38 per game average. SHU has forced opponents into an average of 23.4 miscues a game. They also lead the NEC in turnover margin with a +4.62 difference.
Burke...In a Sharing Mood... Kerri Burke is third in the Northeast Conference in assists at 4.86 assists per game. She has handed out 36 helpers on the year against just 29 turnovers, good for third in the league in assist/turnover ratio. Burke passed out a career-best 11 assists in the loss at Columbia becoming just the second Pioneer in the last 18 years to record double digit assists in a game. (Kate Maher -10 asst. vs. Robert Morris). Julie Hogan recorded 14 against Bridgeport on February 24, 1986.
A Master Thief... Amanda Pape is leading the conference in steals at 2.88 per game (23) as the Pioneers main piece of their full court pressure defense. She led the Pioneers last season in takeaways with 75 that put her second overall in the NEC. She made a season-high six steals in the win over Rider earlier in the year and came up with five in the loss to Hofstra.
Pape on the Boards... A 5-8 guard normally wouldn't be found in the top-10 in their league in rebounding, would they? Well, that's just what SHU's Amanda Pape is doing this season, pulling down 7.5 rebounds a game to rank 8th in the NEC. Pape has grabbed 60 boards on the year including 30 on the offensive end. The sophomore standout was second on the team last season with a 6.4 per game average.
