MONROE, La. – Eastern Kentucky University’s women’s basketball team puts its undefeated record on the line this weekend with a pair of games at the Taco Bell Warhawk Classic in Monroe, La. The event is being hosted by the University of Louisiana at Monroe and features EKU (3-0), Syracuse (3-1) and Alabama State (0-1). The Lady Colonels will face Syracuse in the first round at 2 p.m. on Saturday. ULM (3-1) and Alabama State face off at 4 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be played at 2 and 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Eastern Kentucky won its first three games to start a season for the first time since 1996-97. EKU knocked off Valparaiso and Florida Gulf Coast last weekend to win the FGCU Thanksgiving Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. Senior Ashley Cazee earned tournament MVP honors and senior Niki Avery was selected to the all-tournament team.

Cazee’s performance in two games last week earned Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week recognition. She averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists while shooting 58.3 percent from the field. In the Lady Colonels’ 74-56 championship game win over Florida Gulf Coast, Cazee scored 26 points and knocked down three-pointers on three straight EKU possessions to key a 15-3 second half run that put the game away. The senior finished the game having made 10 of 12 shot attempts, including 5-of-7 from three-point range.

Four players have started every game for head coach Larry Joe Inman’s team, and all four are averaging double figures. However, it’s not just the starters that are getting the job done. In three games, EKU’s bench has outscored its opponents 71-22.

Syracuse enters Saturday’s game with a 3-1 record and a two-game winning streak. The Orange have wins over Coppin State (69-65), Lehigh (61-54) and Colgate (75-26). The only loss for Syracuse came on the road against top-10 ranked North Carolina (97-72).

Fantasia Goodwin (Sr., F, 6-0) leads the Orange in scoring and rebounding. She’s averaging a double-double with 14.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

Chandrea Jones (Jr., G, 5-9) and Nicole Michael (So., G, 6-2) are contributing to a team average of 51.5 rebounds per game by grabbing 8.8 and 7.8 boards per contest respectively. Michael is also adding 11 points per game and Jones is chipping in with 10.5 points per game.

Syracuse has not fared well from beyond the three-point arch, shooting just 19.2 percent (15-of-78).

Goodwin had 25 points and 13 rebounds against Colgate on Wednesday night. The Syracuse defense limited Colgate to 15.7 percent (8-of-51) shooting from the field, including 0-for-13 from three-point range.

Louisiana-Monroe suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday after starting 2007-08 with three straight wins. The Warhawks opened with home wins over McNeese State (77-40), Centenary (59-46) and Texas State (72-66). ULM fell to Southern Mississippi on the road 79-65 on Tuesday.

Jesse Carrier (13.3 ppg) is the only player averaging double figures in scoring for a team that averages 68.2 points per game.

Alabama State’s only game this season was a 93-57 loss to OVC member Murray State.