Orangewomen Basketball Loses at Auburn, 58-55
11/25/2001 4:44:50 PM | Women's Basketball
AUBURN, Ala. – The backcourt tandem of senior Jaime James (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) and sophomore Julie McBride (Mechanicville, N.Y./Catholic Central) combined for 29 points, seven assists and seven steals, but the Syracuse women's basketball team was defeated, 58-55, at Auburn Thursday night at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
Syracuse is now 3-2 on the season, while the Tigers remain unbeaten at 6-0.
The Orangewomen started quickly, taking a 13-8 lead with 12:48 remaining in the first half. Auburn countered with a 15-6 run to take a four-point advantage. The Tigers went into halftime with a 27-24 lead.
Auburn continued its run into the second half, taking a 38-31 lead. Syracuse was able to fight back and took a two-point lead, 46-44 with 8:08 left in the game, when freshman Rochelle Coleman (Burtonsville, Md./Paint Branch) hit the first three-pointer of her career with the shot clock winding down. Auburn responded with an 8-0 spurt to take a six-point lead at 52-46.
James cut the lead to 54-53 on a jumper with 1:49 left. Neither team scored until there were 15 seconds remaining. Auburn's Carol Smith hit a baseline jump shot with time running out on the shot clock to give the Tigers a 56-53 lead. SU sophomore Shannon Perry (Providence, R.I./LaSalle) hit a shot in the lane to cut it back to one with five seconds left. Syracuse had to foul three times to put Auburn in the bonus and force free throws. Smith iced the game for the Tigers with a pair of foul shots with only 1.4 seconds left on the clock.
James led the Orangewomen with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. McBride tallied 14 points and a career-high five steals. Perry scored nine points and led Syracuse with six rebounds. Coleman scored a career-high five points.
Tia Miller led all scorers with 16 points. Carol was the only other Auburn player in double figures with 13. LaKeisha Johnson led the Tigers with a game-high eight rebounds. Auburn outrebounded the Orangewomen, 41-22, and outscored SU, 25-5, on second-chance opportunities. The Orangewomen outshot Auburn .440 to .436, but SU's 55 points were the fewest scored this season.
Syracuse continues its two-game swing through the Southeastern Conference when they take on 25th-ranked South Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Columbia, S.C.
