SYRACUSE - A year after losing 20 games, Syracuse is on the cusp of winning 20 for only the third time in the program's 37-year history. Second-year coach Quentin Hillsman isn't taking the abrupt turnaround for granted.

“We just want to finish the season as strong as possible,” said Hillsman, who has guided the Orange to their most wins since the 1987-88 team finished 22-9 under Barb Jacobs.

Syracuse (19-4), ranked No. 21, has only six games before the Big East tournament, and three are against ranked teams. On Saturday night, No. 16 Notre Dame (19-5) visits the Carrier Dome with fifth place in the Big East at stake. Both teams are 7-3 in the conference.

“It's big with a ranked team coming to your home floor,” Hillsman said. “It's a great opportunity. We're looking forward to the challenge. Notre Dame's a good team, they score a lot of points. It'll be a good matchup.”

It hasn't been in the past. The Irish hold a 20-2 overall edge in the series and have not lost to Syracuse in 16 regular-season games. The Orange's last win against Notre Dame was 84-79 over the No. 21 Irish in the quarterfinals of the 2002 Big East tournament, which coincidentally was the last year the Orange were selected for the NCAA tournament.

“They're real big. They're very physical. They play just like us,” said sophomore forward Nicole Michael, who's tied for second in scoring on the team with Fantasia Goodwin at 13 points a game. The Orange are 1-3 against ranked teams so far this breakout season. They lost to North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Connecticut before beating then-No.23 DePaul 69-66 on the road just over two weeks ago. The final two games of the season are at No. 5 Rutgers and home against No. 11 West Virginia, which are currently tied for second in the league at 9-1 behind Connecticut.

“It would be great to get these wins,” Michael said. “We're just working hard. We can't just think that we're great now and lose these games.”

Syracuse has only been to three NCAA tournaments since the program began in 1971 under Muriel Smith. Securing another berth is paramount, and finishing with a flourish is the goal.

“If there are NCAA implications, they look at how you finish the season,” Hillsman said.

Notre Dame has topped the 90-point mark six times this season, one shy of the school record set in 1996-97 and equaled in 1998-99.

The Irish are coming off a 99-76 victory Wednesday night over Marquette, which lost 70-67 to the Orange on Sunday. Notre Dame shot a season-high 64.3 percent (36-of-56), its best for a single game in 11 years. The Irish also matched their season high with eight blocked shots but committed a season-high 23 turnovers.

Syracuse is fresh from an 81-72 road victory over Seton Hall, the Orange's second straight win after being upset at Georgetown. Freshman guard Erica Morrow has led the way, scoring 24 and 23 points to key the two victories.

Morrow hit five 3-pointers against Seton Hall to boost her season mark to 43-for-112 (38.4 percent) from beyond the arc.

“It's just one of those things,” Hillsman said. “She's getting open shots, and she's making a whole lot more than she's missing. We're pleased.”

Syracuse had an eight-day hiatus between games after the loss to the Hoyas, but plays the final six games in a 16-day span.

Which means practice won't be quite so grueling for the first ranked women's team in school history, a team that surely still has some doubters.

“We're doing a lot of film work, a lot of walk-through stuff without having to do a lot of pounding and a lot of banging,” Hillsman said. “When you think about proving yourself, I think you put undo pressure on yourself and your kids. We just want to do what we've been doing, and we've been doing pretty well.”

“Of course there's still going to be doubters out there,” Michael said. “But I feel we've proven enough.”