Orangewomen Lose to 25th-Ranked Boston College
2/1/2003 3:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y.- The Syracuse women's basketball team lost to 25th-ranked Boston College,82-63, in front of a season-high 1,398 fans at Manley Field House Saturday afternoon. The Orangewomen are now 8-12 and 3-6 in the BIG EAST. The Eagles improved their record to 15-4 and 7-1 in conference play. April Jean (Sacramento, Calif./Coffeyville C.C.) paced SU with 17 points, going 7-for-11 from the floor.
Syracuse jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on baskets by junior guard Julie McBride (Mechanicville, N.Y./Catholic Central) and freshman center Jill Norton (Marlton, N.J./Bishop Eustace Prep). Boston College responded with a 26-8 run during an eight-minute span to take a 26-12 lead with 10:30 to play in the first half.
The two teams traded baskets the rest of the half and McBride's three-pointer from the left wing with six seconds to play made the halftime score 45-29 in favor of Boston College. The Eagles were 6-for-8 from three-point range and shot 65 percent (17-of-26) from the floor overall in the first stanza.
The Eagles went on a 20-10 run to begin the second half, building their largest lead of the game, 65-39, with 11:59 to play. The Orangewomen responded with an 11-0 spurt of their own to cut the lead to 65-50 at the 7:47 mark. Sophomoore guard Krystalyn Ellerbe (Clinton, Md./Tallahassee C.C.) scored six of her career-high eight points during the three-minute run.
SU closed the gap to 13 points at 76-63 with 1:40 left, but Boston College scored the game's final six points.
McBride, who was recognized before the game for becoming just the 15th Orangewomen to score 1,000 points in a career, scored 11 points and dished out eight assists for Syracuse. McBride moved into sixth place on the SU career assists ledger and now has 416. Tierra Jackson (Upper Marlboro, Md./Frederick Douglass) was a spark off the bench, chipping in with eight points and five rebounds.
Four Eagles scored in double figures led by Amber Jacob's game-high 25 points. Jessalyn Deveny added 21 points and nine rebounds.
The Orangewomen have a week off before hosting nationally-ranked Villanova on Saturday, February 8 in Manley Field house. Tip off is set for 2 p.m.
