The Women Win Again

After starting out worst than the men did, Coach Quentin Hillsman's women's team was able to rebound literally and figuratively against Seton Hall.

The Ladies went almost eight minutes without scoring and fell behind 15-2, but like the Orange did against Marquette, they went on two big runs 9-0 and 11-0 to eventually take a 26-22 lead.

The second half the Orange exploded for 51 points on 66.7% shooting. For the game the Orange finished at a VERY impressive 55.1%. The 'Cuse also drilled their three-pointers and free throws, hitting 7 of 12 threes and 20 of 22 free throws during the game.

That's quite a turn around from the previous couple games when SU struggled to shoot even half those percentages.

The Orange used their rebounding abilities to their advantage collecting eight more rebounds than the Pirates.

Some more positives:
Erica Morrow was awesome again. She dropped 23 on the Pirates, giving her 47 points in the last two games. Maybe she should keep the pink hair for the rest of the year she's been sporting to raise awareness for breast cancer.

Fantasia Goodwin is back on track with a solid 10-12 shooting performance for 20 points.

Some negatives:
Chandrea Jones is struggling as teams focus on her. This has allowed Erica Morrow to go bonkers, but Jones needs to find better looks at the basket. She can't be shooting 5-13 against better teams and expect to win.

Turnovers once again was an issue. Six players had at least two turnovers and the Orange had 19 for the game. SU almost gave the game away to Marquette with more than two dozen turnovers and struggled again last night against SHU. Turnovers lead to easy points, something they can't afford to give to the top tier of teams in the Big East.

Overall:
The Orange are now 19-4 and 7-3 in the conference. They have an RPI of 19th. If the Orange stay on track they should be heading towards a five or maybe even a four seed in the NCAA tournament. Who would have thought on Valentine's Day the women's team would be projected as a four seed while the men are struggling to get into the tournament.

SU faces off against Notre Dame Saturday night in the Dome. The Fighting Irish enter the game with a solid 7-3 record in the Big East and 19-5 overall. The winner moves into fourth place in the Big East.

The Syracuse Women host Marquette Sunday

The Ladies will try to rebound from their loss at Georegtown last Saturday against Marquette in the Dome Sunday at 2 PM.

The Lady Orange are 17-4 and 5-3 in the conference while Marquette is 13-9 and 5-4 in conference.

The Golden Eagles have a few quality wins, but also have a couple puzzling losses. They lost to a terrible Oregon and an even worse Northwestern team. NU has just four wins this year, one of them being against Marquette. On the flip side, they beat SU's last opponent Georgetown at home, and also beat DePaul at home. They've also shown an ability to win on the road against a tough opponent when they beat UW-Green Bay who's 17-4 out of the Horizon League. Marquette's RPI is 75. For a complete look at their schedule, check out realtimerpi.com.

Marquette is an extremely deep team as they consistently go ten deep. Krystal Ellis leads the team in scoring at 19.1 per and is the only Golden Eagle averaging double digit points. Ellis is the team's only three point threat. She's the only player on the team to average one three-pointer per game. As a team, Marquette only shoots 26.6% from behind the arc. Look for the SU zone to try to force MU into as many three point attempts as possible.

The Golden Eagles best post player is Svetlana Kovalenko. Yes, she is Russian, and she's 6'3'', but she attended high school in Michigan. Svetlana averages 8.4 ppg and 7.9 rpg.

As a whole Marquette is a terrible shooting team, but does a lot of the intangibles well. Case and point, they shoot just 40% from the field, 27% from three, and 65% from the line. They do however out rebound their opponents by three a game and record more than 12 steals a game. As a whole, they force 22 turnovers a game.

Keys for the Orange:

• Chandra Jones can't get into foul trouble. She did against Georgetown and the Orange lost.
• Active 2-3 zone. Don't let Marquette penetrate. Force MU into three pointers, my high school church league team shoots better than them for three.
• Don't the ball over. If the Golden Eagles have any chance in this game they are going to have force upwards of 22 turnovers, their season average, to compete with the Orange.

CuseAdelphia prediction: Syracuse 76, Marquette 68. Marquette has played a lot of close Big East games and this should be another. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact the Dome crowd which has been up over 3,000 people the last two games will have on the Golden Eagles.

Syracuse Women Also Hit the Road Saturday

The Women play hatred rival Georgetown Saturday at 3:00 in Georgtown. They will look to continue their three game winning streak against the struggling Hoyas. Georgetown is just 1-6 in the conference and 11-9 overall. They are way down in the RPI at 119th while Syracuse has shot all the way up to 14th.

Georgetown's only win in the conference is against an okay Seton Hall team at home. GU has a couple quality non conference wins against Towson and VCU who are right at the top of the CAA.

The Hoyas have struggled to score this year, averaging just 63 points per game and only 54 per game in conference play.

Kieraah Marlow leads the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game and rebounds at 6.9 per game. Marlow is the only member of the team that is averaging double digits for the year. Even Marlow's production has dropped in conference play. She's scoring more than three points per game less in conference play, scoring just 11.4 per game.

There's really one key for Syracuse in this game, shut down Marlow. Georgetown doesn't have any other solid scoring options which means Syracuse should roll in this game.

CuseAdelphia Prediction: Syracuse dominates Georgetown 78-46.

Syracuse Beat Another Ranked Opponent

The Syracuse women's basketball team beat their first ranked foe as a ranked team. The Orange defeated 23rd ranked DePaul 69-66. The win was the first for the 'Cuse over a ranked team in more than five minutes.

Syracuse got a career high 17 points from Vionca Murray on 7-8 shooting from the field and 3-3 from the line. Erica Morrow also contributed 15 points.

The game went back and forth until Syracuse secured the lead with a late 11-2 run to break a 53 all tie. DePaul had one last run left in them, scoring the next ten points to take a one point lead.

Chandra Jones scored on a put back to give the Orange a 68-66, Nicole Michael added a free throw for the final 69-66.

S.U. also lead at the half 37-35, DePaul quickly answered, making the second half a sea-saw battle.

The Orange move to 17-3 and 5-2 in the conference.

Syracuse women's team travels to Depaul Tuesday

Syracuse's second game as a ranked team will be their first game ever facing another ranked team.

The AP voted Syracuse 22nd and put Depaul right behind them at 23rd. The Blue Demons enter the game with a 15-4 record and 4-2 conference record. Depaul enters the game as hot as the Orange, winning four of five, and is coming off a pounding win against Cincinnati 81-51.

Depaul is currently ranked 41st in the RPI and has quality wins at 15-5 Notre Dame and 17-1 Illinois State. They have bad losses at home against Tennessee and Pitt. Normally losses to those teams aren't too bad, but the Blue Demons lost 102-68 to the Volunteers and 97-68 to the Panthers. They also lost 65-56 at 11-8 Marquette ten days ago.

It's very hard to win against the Blue Demons in the Depaul. They've won all but four of their last forty home games. The Blue Demons draw pretty well as they've had a crowd of more than 2,000 almost every game.

Allie Quigley leads Depaul in points (18.2 ppg), steals, assists, and free throw shooting. She's all around one of the best players in the Big East. She's part of a strong scoring attack. The Blue Demons average 82 points per game, something many men's teams can't even do.

Natasha Williams leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 per game and blocks with 34.

Depaul is a average shooting team from three at 34.5% and hits about seven per game. They will need strong shooting from the outside to beat the tough Syracuse 2-3 zone Coach Quentin Hillsman has adopted from Jim Boeheim.

Key for Syracuse: Get all the scorers on this team involved early. They will need several girls hitting shots all game to beat the Blue Demons. They can't rely on one player to take over like in some of their previous games.

Final Prediction: Depaul 74, Syracuse 71. Depaul is a little too good for a relatively young and inexperienced Syracuse to win in. The Orange has struggled on the road, expect more struggles Tuesday.

Syracuse 80 St. John's 52

Syracuse defeats St. John's in the Dome handily 80-52 behind Nicole Michael and Marisa Gobuty. Michael scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a game that was never really close.

The 'Cuse continued to lengthen their lead to 30 at 80-50, the Johnnies got a late basket for the final score of 80-52.

The fans really came out for this game against and were loud. The announced attendance for the game was 3,323. It's obvious this city is really beginning to embrace the women's team.

For the Orange, Marisa Gobuty scored eight really quick points at the end of the first half to receive a standing ovation. She nailed two threes and a long two pointer. Gobuty is considered one of the best current Israeli women basketball players. She even has her own website. It was fitting she had such a great game on the day she was the player featured on the game's roster card.

5'3'' Cintia Johnson is one of the grittiest, toughest players on the floor for the Orange. She doesn't stray away from contact when trying to get the ball up court. Twice she got knocked to the floor, but both times she maintained a dribble without missing a beat. She's a nice change of pace to spell the other point guard Tasha Harris who coincidentally also wears number 11.

It was weird in the second half to see during a timeout the St. John's coaches all huddled together while their players just stood around on the bench for about 30 seconds. I don't think I've ever seen every coach from one team gather and leave the team unattended.

The ladies held St. John's to just 31% shooting in the game and out rebounded the Red Storm by 11. It was an all around solid performance for Coach Q's team. They also forced 21 turnovers and blocked five shots. The Orange improve to 16-3 on the season and 4-2 in the Big East.

Syracuse is 16th in the RPI right behind Pitt who beat the Orange. Their next game is Tuesday the 29th at Depaul. The Blue Demons are 14-4 and 3-2 in the conference.

The Women's Basketball Team's next opponent is led by a girl that goes by the name Mo-Mo

The women debut their first ever ranking tomorrow at the Carrier Dome at 2 PM. They play the Red Storm who comes in at 10-8 and 1-4 in the Big East. St. John's has really struggled in conference play with their only win coming over fellow doormat South Florida. They did play Rutgers and Pitt tough, but got hammered at home against West Virginia.

St. John's enters the game with an RPI of 62 and played a decent non-conference schedule to prepare them for Big East play. Their best win so far came at NCST who is 12-7, but win less in the ACC. The Red Storm beat them 60-55. St. John's is 2-5 on the road and 0-2 in conference play.

They are led by Monique McLean who averages 14.1 points per game. McLean goes by the nickname M0-Mo according to her bio on St. John's athletics website.

The Red Storm's second leading scorer is Kia Wright. She averages just over 11 points per game and is the team leader in assists. She's a transfer from UCONN so she must have a pretty solid game to once have played for Geno Auriemma.

The leading rebounder for the Johnnies is Joy McCorvey at just 6.2 rebounds per game. She's a six foot sophomore forward from Alabama.

Syracuse is going to dominate SJU on the glass. S.U. has had a solid rebounding margin all year, compound that with St. Johns struggles on the glass and you should get complete domination by the Orange tomorrow.

CuseAdelphia prediction: Syracuse 82, St. John's 58.

At Least the Ladies Beat Villanova

Villanova played the Syracuse women's basketball tough for the first 34 minutes, but finally the talent of Coach Quentin Hillsman's team was too much for the Wildcats. The ladies won 73-60 to improve to 15-3 and 3-2 in the conference.

Nicole Michael is really starting to come on in Big East play as she scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season, three of which have come in Big East play.

Villanova led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but the Orange responded by hitting the boards and getting second chance points. By half, the game was tied, but Villanova wouldn't let the Orange get away. 'Nova held leads in the second half until about the six minute mark when Coach Q's squad went bonkers.

The Orange used a 19-4 run over the final six minutes to put the Wildcats to bed. They hit ten free throws down the stretch to seal it.

The 'Cuse showed the tenacity to win another game that was close for most of the contest. They were able to overcome poor three point shooting and 32.4% shooting in the second half to pull away from 'Nova.

Syracuse is now 16th in the RPI with quality wins over Louisville, Penn State, and now Villanova. They are building a very strong resume for the NCAA tournament. They have four tough remaining games on their schedule. They go to 13-4 Depaul, at 14-2 Rutgers, and have 15-3 Notre Dame and 14-3 WVU at home. At most this team should finish the regular season with seven losses which would put them 10-6 in the Big East.

Dear Coach Geno Auriemma,

Your program is suppose to be one of the leading programs and ambassadors of women's basketball. Instead you represent your program by acting like an arrogant jerk. What I saw at the game your Huskies played at the Carrier Dome was a disappointment.

You showed up to the game without a tie and looked very unprofessional. I haven't watched enough of your games to know if this is common, but you do not go on the ROAD and not wear a tie. Many middle school teams of any sport require their kids to wear ties on days of road games. You are one of the two most well known coaches in women's basketball and you can't show Syracuse respect by showing up with a tie?

Secondly, your comments about the Carrier Dome were uncalled for. How dare you question a program's decision to play at the Carrier Dome. The program is trying to take a step forward and draw in recruits with the lure of playing in the Carrier Dome. What girl wants to play in some old musty field house when the men get to play in the LoudHouse?

Why does UCONN women's basketball play some of their games in Hartford away from the campus? Easy answer: to make the program look better by playing in a larger venue. You should be equally criticized for making it more difficult for your school's students to go to games by making them go to Hartford.

You said you wanted 15,000 in the Dome because it would be awesome. Coach Auriemma, you'll get that some day if you can keep your program at the top because Syracuse is coming for you. Coach Quentin Hillsman is bringing in big name recruits and to be honest I can confidentially say, biased or unbiased, he out coached you. Syracuse made UCONN play their game most of the game and it beat you. Your team was able to speed it up in the last part of the second half and that was the difference. You won that game because you're UCONN and have bigger, stronger, and faster players.

Thirdly, I would like to address the behaviors of some of your players. Several times after questionable calls, your players yelled, stared, and showed up referees. Why a few times they weren't called for technicals I'm not sure. You're the leading women's basketball program in the country, an example for girls everywhere. They come to see your players excel with good sportsmanship, but I didn't see a lot of that with some of your players.

There was one situation when one of your players thought there should have been a traveling call on an S.U. player, but wasn't called. Your player went out of her way to run in front of the referee before heading down court to play defense, making a traveling sign while starring at the referee. Sorry Coach Auriemma, that is inexcusable.

Lastly, why won't you play Tennessee anymore? I'll be honest, before this year, I didn't watch a lot of women's basketball, but I did usually watch a few marquee games, one of them being Tennessee-UCONN. From what's been reported by the media, it seems you are the one that stopped the rivalry. Bring it back Coach, it's what's best for your girls, the program, and women's basketball as a whole.

Sincerely,
Jameson Fleming

P.S. Is the bench decorum not in existence in the women's game because you jumped out of your little coach's box several times.

The Ladies Win an Ugly Game

I didn't get watch to this one or listen to it, but I follow the gametracker all night, and it seemed like the Orange's 67-60 win over South Florida was not pretty to watch.

S.U. consistently shot about 40% all game, but South Florida shot much worse at 30%, compound lots of offensive rebounds for the Bulls and that means lots of extra possessions for South Florida to miss more shots.

Syracuse was uncharacteristically bad on the boards, allowing 18 offensive rebounds. The rebounding margin ended up even, but that was because South Florida missed 51 shots. S.U. was bound to get a good number of defensive rebounds no matter how bad they were rebounding.

This team as a whole this real has been solid rebounding the ball, but in their two losses and this close game, they've really struggled on the boards. North Carolina exploited them on the glass in the second half and Pitt controlled the glass all game. Both resulted in losses, in this one, S.U. almost blew another lead, but held on at the end. Their 10 point lead at the half quickly shrank in the second half to just a couple points.

The 'Cuse hung on in the end behind the stellar play of Nicole Michael. Michael has struggled this year a little bit compared to her incredible freshman season. In this game, those struggles were behind her. She pulled a Fantasia Goodwin and cleaned the glass very well, grabbing 15 rebounds in the game and scoring 13 points.

Syracuse also got solid performances from Chandra Jones, 19 points and 3-4 from the land of three point shots, and from Erica Morrow who scored 15 and went 2-2 from behind the arc.

Fantasia Goodwin also contributed a double-double coming off the bench. She posted 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Lady Orange move to 14-2 and 2-1 in conference play.

Their next game is Tuesday in the Dome at 7:00 against the number one ranked team in the country: UCONN. Come out and support the ladies, they deserve it.

The Ladies Fall to Pitt 85-75

The Syracuse women's basketball team appears it might not be ready to compete with the best of the Big East just yet. They came into the game ranked 27th in the country, but was facing off the team just ahead of them Pitt at 26th. The Panthers were 11-3 entering the game and like Syracuse 1-0 in the conference.

The Lady Panthers were just a bit too much for the Orange. Syracuse shot just 36% which was the difference in this game. Pitt shot 10% better at 46%. Syracuse actually forced more turnovers and the rebounding was pretty equal. It simply came down to Pitt knocked down more shots.

The game was close at half, Pitt lead 40-36, but the second half the Orange came out flat. The loss drops the Orange to 13-2 and 1-1 in the Big East.

2008 Women's Basketball Preview

The end of 2007 brought the ladies the most success this team program has ever had. They are off to their best start in school history. What's behind the sudden turn around for a program that's been usually towards the bottom of the Big East? A new coach and a handful of very talented players is a start. Look for 2008 to be a breakout year for Coach Quentin Hillsman and the Syracuse women's basketball team.

How they finished the 2007-2008 season:
The Big East is pretty strong in women's basketball, so like the men, every game is going to be tough. Every team has at least an 8-5 record through the first week of Big East play. They play every team once and Georgetown twice. Look the Lady Orange to score 10 or 11 victories in conference play and finish the season about 22-7 or 23-6. They have the talent to go to the Big East Tournament semifinals. Should they do this, a four or five seed in the NCAA tournament is likely. In the tournament, they again have the talent to reach the Sweet 16, but probably not any further this year. This is all the best case scenario. The ladies will have to continue to play together and hit the boards.

Against North Carolina in 2007, they struggled shooting the ball and turning it over. What separates the best teams from the good ones like UCONN vs. the rest of the country is their ability to shoot and convert put backs into points. Syracuse has improved dramatically as the year has gone on against tougher competition. Look for Coach Q to have this team hitting their stride through Big East play.

The Ladies first real test comes Wednesday against Pittsburgh in PITT. After that UCONN comes to the Dome two games later on January 16th.

After the season, Coach Q will the recruiting trails for his class of 2009. He already has a very strong recruiting class coming in for 2008-2009. Most recruiting services have it ranked in the top 15. S.U. will start the 2008-2009 season well again, probably with only or two losses in the non-conference depending the schedule. I talked to Coach Q at a men's game earlier this year, and he said he was trying to get Maryland on the schedule.

How the community will embrace the team:
The students are starting to get into this team. By the end of the year expect the bottom floor seats to be filled for the biggest Big East games and for UCONN a decent sized student section. The Syracuse community will also begin coming to games. Attendance will jump of 1,000 people a game instead of the approximately 500 a game they draw now.

My final not so bold prediction put in bold lettering:
The Ladies finish the season 11-5 in the Big East and 23-6. They go the Big East Tournament a three seed and lose to Rutgers in the semifinals by a dozen points. They reach the NCAA tournament as a 5 seed and advance to the Sweet 16.

It's Official: Coach Q's Squad is Good.

The ladies of the Dome have won 11 games in a row for the first time ever and are off to their best start since 1978. They got to that mark win a win against A-10 powerhouse St. Bonaventure.

Fantasia Goodwin once again led the team with 19 points and 1o rebounds. The Orange dominated the inside significantly outrebounding and outscoring the Bonnies in the paint.

The Orange went on another run late in the first half like they did against Siena. The 'Cuse outscored St. Bonaventure 25-8 to end the half with a 15 point lead. From there the lead never dipped below 13.

Part of the Orange's success is depth, something they haven't had in the past. Usually at least nine players see at more than 10 minutes a game. This allows the ladies to stay fresh, shoot better, and continue to pound the glass.

More on the lady's season coming up in our 2008 preview this week.

Syracuse Beats Siena Again

This time, it's the ladies who get the job done against Siena. Coach Q's teams got it done a little easier then the men did posting a 78-59 win. The Orange fell behind early 15-11, but went on a big 30-11 run during the first half to make it 40-22. From there S.U. never looked back as the lead rarely dipped below 15 points the rest of the game.

Newcomer Chandra Jones led the attack again scoring 24 and grabbing 12 boards. She was out rebounded by teammate Fantasia Goodwin who pull down 14 rebounds and scored 19 points.

S.U. severely struggled from the field in the second half, shooting just 22.2%, but Siena bailed them out by sending the Orange to line 34 times in the second half. The 'Cuse did struggle from the line hitting just 22 of 34 free throws, but it was enough to put Siena to bed. Syracuse also out-rebounded Siena 49-31.

The win is their 10th in a row and the Orange are off to an 11-1 start with the only loss to UNC. The Orange close out their non-conference schedule on the last day of 2007 against St. Bonaventure. Conference play will begin next Saturday against Louisville.