Cieplicki Era Begins with Game at Binghamton
11/21/2003 4:33:17 PM | Women's Basketball
Listen to the game beginning at 12:25.
The Syracuse women's basketball team will play its first regular-season game under the direction of first-year mentor Keith Cieplicki on Saturday, November 22 at Binghamton. It is the season-opener for both schools. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m .The Orangewomen are coming off a 10-18 season in 2002-03. The squad returns four players that started at least 20 games last season, including two of its top three scorers. Senior guard Julie McBride is SU’s top returner. McBride, a second-team All-BIG EAST selection last season, already ranks among the Orangewomen’s all-time top 10 in points (10th - 1,164), assists (3rd - 460), free throws (7th - 252) and three-pointers (2nd - 178). Last season, she averaged 15.6 points and 6.4 assists per contest.
Junior Rochelle Coleman is also back in the lineup. Coleman hit 70 three-pointers last season, the third-best single-season mark in school history. She scored 13.5 points per contest and shot a team-leading 36.1 percent from deep. Sophomore Jill Norton started 22 times as a rookie, averaging 1.6 points and 1.6 rebounds per contest. SU’s top reserve last season was Tierra Jackson. Jackson, now a sophomore, averaged 6.8 points and led the team with 37 blocked shots.
The Orangewomen have three new faces on the roster this season. Freshmen Tracy Harbut and Lauren Kohn, along with sophomore Marchele Campbell .
Binghamton coach Rich Conover is in his first full season at the helm of the Binghamton program. He is beginning his fifth season on the Binghamton sideline, having been thetop assistant the last four seasons. Last season, when head coach Laurie Kelly was on maternity leave, Conover stepped in and led the Bearcats for 16 of the final 20 games.
The Bearcats return all five starters and 10 letterwinners from last year’s squad that went 10-17. Guard Jen Blues led the team as a rookie last season with 11.3 points per game, making a team-best 46 three-pointers. The Bearcats used a balanced attack with six players scoring at least five points per game. Leala Wegwerth averaged 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds. Kate Townley was the team’s leader with 143 assists in addition to her 7.0 points per contest. Rachel Laws was fourth on the team with 7.9 points per game. She reached double figures seven times in the Bearcats’ final 10 games last season. Nicole Dypolt was the Bearcats’ leading rebounder at 6.4 per game before going down with a knee injury 12 games into the season. Dypolt was also a threat to score, hitting at 8.8 points per game.
THE SYRACUSE VS. BINGHAMTON SERIES
Syracuse leads the all-time series with Binghamton, 5-0, including a 72-51 victory at Manley Field House last season. That meeting was the first between the the two schools since February 6, 1975, a 57-29 win for the Orangewomen in Syracuse. SU is 4-0 at home versus the Bearcats. The only game played at Binghamton was a 41-19 SU victory on February 19, 1974. Binghamton is a familiar opponent to Syracuse mentor Keith Cieplicki. Cieplicki was 5-0 against the Bearcats during his final two seasons at Vermont.
Syracuse vs. Binghamton Facts & Figures
All-Time Record: SU leads, 5-0
First Meeting: Feb. 12, 1972 at SU (SU 27, BU 24)
Last Meeting: Dec. 21, 2002 at SU (SU 72, BU 51)
Largest SU Margin of Victory: 45 points (Feb 7, 1973; 61-16)
Coach Cieplicki’s Record vs. Binghamton: 5-0 (all at Vermont)
SYRACUSE IN SEASON OPENERS
The Orangewomen are 20-12 all-time in season debuts. This year marks the fourth consecutive season that Syracuse has opened its season on the road. Last year’s loss at Siena snapped a three-game winning streak in season openers. The Orangewomen are 6-5 all-time in season-openers on the road. The Oranewomen have not started a season at home since a 64-56 win versus Canisius on November 23, 1991. Cieplicki is 6-0 all-time in season openers.
ORANGEWOMEN SCHEDULE RANKED 20TH-TOUGHEST IN THE NATION
The 2003-04 schedule is ranked 20th in the country according the WBCA/Summerville RPI Preseason Strength of Schedule Report. The Orangwomen will play at least 12 games against teams that qualified for the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Syracuse will play a minimum of 12 teams that played in the postseason last year, including 10 that participated in the NCAA Tournament. SU's schedule also calls for potential matchups against 2003 NCAA qualifiers Virginia or Arizona, or 2003 Final Four participant Texas at the Rainbow Wahine Classic hosted by the University of Hawaii. The Orangewomen's known opponents went a combined 19-9 in NCAA Tournament play last season. The Orangewomen play road non-conference games at George Washington, Colorado and Vanderbilt. The Colonials, Buffaloes and Commodores all advanced to at least the second round of last season's NCAA Tournament. In conference play, SU will play nine games against seven teams that made the NCAA Tournament, including defending national champion Connecticut. The Orangewomen play Rutgers and Notre Dame twice during the season. The Scarlet Knights and Fighting Irish advanced to the second round and Sweet Sixteen of last year's tournament, respectively. The report is based on last season's win-loss record of the 2003-04 opponents. SU's upcoming foes went a combined 462-317 (.593) last year.
SIXTY IS SU’S MAGIC NUMBER
The Orangewomen own a 15-3 record in the last 18 games in which they’ve held opponents to less than 60 points. SU went 7-2 in 2002-03 when limiting teams to 59-or-less points. Conversely, Syracuse has lost 11 consecutive games when allowing opponents to reach the 80-point plateau. The last SU victory when an opponent scored 80-or-more points was on November 17, 2000 when the Orangewomen defeated 12th-ranked Old Dominion, 85-84, in overtime. SU has not won a game in regulation when allowing 80-or-more since a 102-88 win at West Virginia on February 10, 1999. In SU’s 10 wins last season, the Orangewomen allowed just 58.2 points per game. In the 18 losses, Syracuse allowed 73.0 points.
