Orange Plays #1 Seed South Carolina Sunday

Syracuse (22-9) at South Carolina (31-2)
Game Details: Sunday, March 22 | 7 p.m.
Location: Colonial Life Arena | Columbia, S.C.
Game Coverage: Audio | Live Stats | Video | @Cuse Twitter | @CuseWBB Twitter
Television: ESPN | ESPN3 | WatchESPN
Game Notes: Syracuse

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The eighth-seeded Syracuse University women's basketball team is set for a rematch with No. 1 seed South Carolina in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament on Sunday night in Columbia, S.C. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. in Colonial Life Arena. The game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN.

In its last game, Syracuse scored a 72-69 victory against ninth-seeded Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It marked the second game in the NCAA Tournament that the program has ever won. Sophomore guard Alexis Peterson paced the team with 24 points, the most-ever by an Orange in an NCAA Tournament.

Sunday's contest is a rematch of the 2014 Junkanoo Jam Lucaya Division final. Syracuse led for the majority of the contest, but ultimately suffered a 67-63 loss to No. 1/2 South Carolina. Sophomore center Briana Day put together one of her best performances of the season in the loss to the Gamecocks, pulling down 17 rebounds.

Jack of All Trades
Junior Cornelia Fondren is certainly not your typical 5-foot-8 guard. Not often does a guard account for just under 14 percent of a squad's total rebounding, but that is the type of player Fondren is. Currently, she ranks second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.6 boards per game. Even more impressive is her offensive rebounding, where she averages 2.8 offensive rebounds per contest.

The glass is not the only place where Fondren contributes. She ranks second on the team in assists and steals, averaging 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game for the Orange. In addition, her 7.7 points per game average is the fifth-best average on the team.

For the second straight game, Fondren set a new a career-high in scoring against Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 20. The junior guard scored 18 points in the Orange's first-round victory, tallying 12 points in the first half. It marked the third consecutive contest that she scored at least 13 points.

The junior guard recorded 16 points in the Orange's game against Wake Forest on March 5 in the ACC Tournament second round. Fondren tallied 11 points in the first half for Syracuse.

Fondren recorded her third double-double of her collegiate career at Pittsburgh on Jan. 22. She tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds, one less than her personal-high. The junior guard and sophomore center Briana Day each tallied double-doubles for the third time in 2014-15.

Against Cornell on Dec. 28, Fondren tallied her second double-double of her collegiate career. She recorded 10 points and a personal-best 11 rebounds against the Big Red. It marked the second time she and sophomore center Briana Day had collected double-doubles in the same contest in 2014-15, as well.

The Memphis, Tenn. native had a career night against Vermont on Dec. 1. She scored 14 points and swiped a personal-best five steals. Her five steals are the most by a Syracuse player during the 2014-15 season. She followed up her effort against Vermont with another spectacular showing against Penn State on Dec. 4. Fondren recorded her first double-double of her collegiate career, tallying 10 points and 10 boards. It marked the third consecutive game she scored in double-figures, as well.

On the Offensive
One of the strengths of the 2014-15 Syracuse women's basketball team is its success on the offensive glass. Despite a low shooting percentage, the offense is able to excel as offensive rebounding provides second, and sometimes third, chances. Currently, Syracuse currently leads the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranked third in the nation heading into the NCAA Tournament in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 17.4 offensive boards per contest.

Sophomore center Briana Day and junior guard Cornelia Fondren are the Orange's top players on the offensive boards. Day averages 4.4 per game, which ranks first in the conference. Not far behind, Fondren brings down 2.8 per contest, which ranks 12th in the league.

Series Breakdown
Sunday marks the second time this season and fourth time in series history that the Orange and Gamecocks will meet.

South Carolina leads the all-time series, 2-1, after taking the prior matchup this season, 67-63, in the Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas on Nov. 28. Syracuse led for the majority of the contest, but ultimately lost to the top-ranked Gamecocks in the final minutes.

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Players Mentioned

Briana Day

Cornelia Fondren

Alexis Peterson

Syracuse University Athletics