Fresh off a 30-8 record and national championship appearance last season, the No. 14 Syracuse Orange will kick off its 2016-2017 campaign Friday afternoon in the Carrier Dome, facing off against Rhode Island at 3 p.m.

The Orange returns starters Alexis Peterson, Brittney Sykes, Briana Day and Isabella Slim, and the familiar faces will be flanked by freshman Gabby Cooper, the first freshman to start for SU since Peterson in 2014.

URI returns junior guard Charise Wilson, who led last year’s team in points, field goals, 3-pointers, assists, steals and minutes per game.

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 7-2

Last time they met: The Orange skirted past the Rams, 57-54, in the 2015 season opener in Kingston, R.I. on Nov. 13 of last year. After an uncharacteristically slow start, SU was forced to brace itself with a fourth-quarter rally to avoid getting upset.

The Orange was down 46-41 heading into the final 10 minutes of the game, until Day stepped up and helped carry SU to victory. Day scored six points in the final quarter to preserve the victory for SU, finishing with 14 on the night and nine rebounds. Skykes had her worst game of the season, scoring just two points in the narrow victory.

How Syracuse beats Rhode Island: The Orange is undoubtedly the better team in this matchup, and SU head coach Quentin Hillsman’s squad should have no problem topping the Rams. But as Hillsman saw last year, Friday’s opener could be anything but a walk in the park.

To spell early victory Friday, SU must come out guns blazing and hit its shots. The Orange crumbled last season in games where it couldn’t convert the 3-point ball, and Hillsman has already talked about how heavily his team will rely on 3-pointers this season. As long as the Orange is able to make its shots and play the kind of fast paced, high-scoring game that many expect it has the capability to, the contest should be decided before the fourth quarter even starts.

The one x-factor for the Rams is Wilson, who will be in her second straight season as URI’s No. 1 threat. After leading the team in nearly every offensive statistic last year, the Orange will have to stop the crafty Wilson if it wants to beat URI. In last season’s nail-biter, Wilson racked up 26 points, eight rebounds and four steals.

If Hillsman’s Orange don’t mark Wilson tightly on Friday afternoon, the Orange’s 2016-2017 campaign could get off to a rocky start.

Stat to know: 999 — URI’s Wilson ended last season with 999 career points, and is set to become Rhode Island’s 21st 1,000-point scorer with her first basket Friday afternoon.

Player to watch: Charise Wilson, guard, No.3

The entire Rams offense runs through Wilson. The Orange plays a frenetic brand of defense that forced Wilson into eight turnovers in last year’s game, and it’ll be key for Syracuse to try and and force those turnovers and limit her scoring this year.

Published on November 11, 2016 at 2:40 am

Contact Matt: mjfel100@syr.edu