Regardless of the teams’ records, rivalry games are always important, and the No. 15 Georgetown women’s basketball team’s (21-6, 10-4 Big East) upcoming visit to Syracuse (17-11, 6-8 Big East) this weekend is no different. The Hoyas will look to beat the Orange for the second time this year in the always-heated matchup between the two schools.

The Blue and Gray easily defeated Syracuse at home in their matchup on Jan. 15th, handing the Orange a 69-42 loss. But Syracuse will carry some momentum into this contest, having won their last two games.

In the most recent game Tuesday night, the Orange upset No. 21 DePaul on the road by a convincing 16-point margin. On top of that, Syracuse’s Carrier Dome is always a tough place to play, so Georgetown Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy will need to have her troops ready for battle if they want to sweep the season series with Syracuse.

The potent Orange offense was in full force against DePaul, and the Hoyas should not expect Syracuse to bring anything less to the table on Saturday. Syracuse ranks fourth in the Big East in total offense with an average of 70 points per game. They also lead the league in free throw percentage, shooting an impressive 76.7 percent as a team from the charity stripe.

Another strength of the Syracuse offense is the variety of players that can contribute on every night. Junior center Kayla Alexander, senior forward Iasia Hemingway and junior guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas all average double-digits in scoring and over six rebounds per game.

And while that trio provides most of the scoring and work on the boards, junior guard Elashier Hall and sophomore guard Rachel Coffey are effective distributors. Each averages over four assists per game.

Fortunately, the Blue and Gray match up well against the Orange thanks to their tenacious defense. Georgetown ranks fourth in the league in team defense, only allowing opponents an average of 52 points per game.

The Hoyas have troubled their opposition and forced a significant amount of turnovers all year thanks to their signature press. They rank second in the league in turnover margin.

And while Georgetown’s offensive attack may not be as balanced as Syracuse’s, the Hoyas boast the Big East’s leading scorer in junior guard Sugar Rodgers (19.3 ppg). Rodgers was named to last week’s Big East honor roll.

This late-season contest is not only important for the Hoyas because of the rivalry, but also for the momentum and potentially higher seeding a victory would give the team going into the Big East tournament and ultimately the NCAA tournament.

The seven graduating Hoya seniors are especially aware of this fact, as they are focused on making a deep postseason run.

Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.