Syracuse University
(7) Drake (NCAA Tournament)
Orangewomen Lose to Drake in NCAA First Round
3/15/2002 11:06:02 PM | Women's Basketball
WACO, Texas -– The Syracuse University women's basketball team's season ended with an 87-69 loss to Drake in the first round in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament at Baylor University's Ferrell Center on Friday night, March 15.
The 10th-seeded Orangewomen (18-13) were able to stay within 40-35 of the seventh-seeded Bulldogs (24-7) at intermission despite shooting 1-of-13 (7.7 percent ) from three-point range and a 15-of-27 (55.6 percent) field-goal shooting performance by Drake in the opening stanza.
SU was left without the services of senior guard Jaime James (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) for most of the first half as she picked up three personal fouls in the first six minutes of the game.
Drake opened the second half with a 22-9 run to take a 62-44 lead at the 13-minute mark. Five Bulldogs scored in the run, including two three-pointers from guard Stephanie Schmitz and five points from forward Erin Richards. The Bulldogs would stretch the lead to 85-61 with 3:27 remaining before Syracuse closed the game on an 8-2 run.
James led the Orangewomen with 16 points and set a school record for three-pointers in an NCAA Tournament game with three. The three trifectas brought James' season total to 72, making her the first Orangewoman to hit more than 70 in a season.
SU senior Tara Trammell (Constantia, N.Y./Paul V. Moore) tied a career-high with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and grabbed two rebounds and had two assists. Sophomore guard Julie McBride (Mechanicville, N.Y./Catholic Central) scored 12 pointed and dished out six assists, while senior forward Jazmine Wright (South Orange, N.J./Columbia) netted 10 points and grabbed a team-high six boards in her final game.
McBride finished the season with 461 points, the sixth-best total in school history. She also handed out 175 assists, the second-largest total in Orangewomen history.
Syracuse's 18 wins are the most since the 1987-88 team won 22 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. It was SU's first winning season since the 1989-90 squad went 15-13.
