Orange Women Meet Third Straight Ranked Team
2/18/2005 9:52:01 AM | Women's Basketball
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HARTFORD, Conn. - The Syracuse women's basketball team (11-13, 3-10) wraps up a three-game stretch versus top-25 teams when it takes on #11/11 Connecticut (17-6, 10-2) at the Hartford Civic Center at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19.
The meeting with the Huskies is SU's fourth in the last five games versus ranked teams. The Orange has lost five straight games overall and 15 in a row to ranked teams. Syracuse nearly pulled out the upset against the Scarlet Knights last time out. The game was tied at 54-54 with 3:11 to go, but Rutgers’ Cappie Pondexter led RU on a 10-0 run to end the game.
Syracuse freshman Jessica Richter went off for a career-best 21 points in the contest. She also led the Orange with seven boards. Richter is SU’s leading scorer at 10.5 points per game overall and 13.8 points per game in the BIG EAST. She is one of only six Orange freshmen ever to score 200 points and grab 100 rebounds in the same season. Richter has scored in double figures in five straight games and 10 of her last 12 games. Sophomore Tracy Harbut also netted a career-high against Rutgers with 11 points off the bench. Harbut played 30 minutes in the game after totalling 31 minutes of work in the previous four games. Harbut seems to thrive against good teams. Last season, she netted a then career-best 10 points versus UConn. Rookie center Vaida Sipaviciute had her career-best six-game streak of at least 10 points snapped with two points on only two field goal attempts against Rutgers. It was her fewest number of looks since not shooting in only three minutes of action against Massachusetts on Dec. 4. Sipaviciute added two more blocked shots to her league-leading total, and now has 61 for the season, which ranks eighth on both the Orange’s single-season and career lists. Senior center Chineze Nwagbo had eight points, including going 4-for-4 from the foul line. She has made 12 straight foul shots and 36 of her last 44 (81.8 percent). She ranks fourth in the BIG EAST during league play. Entering the season, Nwagbo was a 49 percent foul shooter. Senior Rochelle Coleman, one of the BIG EAST’s top 10 distributors netted seven points, three assists and four steals, while Mary Joe Riley had five points and two steals in her fourth straight start. Riley is averaging 5.3 points per game since joining the starting lineup.
Connecticut is coming off a 67-49 victory at Georgetown on Wednesday night. Ann Strother led three Huskies in double figures with 20 points, including four three-pointers. Charde Houston added 13 points and nine boards, while Nicole Wolff went for 10 points off the bench. UConn has won nine of its last 11 games, losing only to Notre Dame and Rutgers. The Huskies have three players averaging in double figures led by Strother’s 12.9 points per game. She is the league’s leading three-point shooter, making 2.78 triples per contest. Strother is the only UConn player to start all 23 games this season. During BIG EAST play, Strother is second to freshman Charde Houston on the Huskies’ scoring ledger. Houston is averaging 12.4 points in her first league season and 11.5 points per game overall. Houston is also the Huskies’ leading rebounder (5.7) and shot blocker (1.7). Barbara Turner UConn’s third-leading scorer at 10.5 points per game. Connecticut is the BIG EAST’s second-highest scoring team at 69.1 points per game and leads the league in scoring defense, allowing teams only 50.9 points a night. UConn has allowed 60-or-fewer points in nine of its last 11, all victories.
Connecticut leads the all-time series with Syracuse, 25-12, including a 25-10 advantage in BIG EAST regular season play. The Huskies have won 18 of the last 19 games, including the last 11 meetings. The Orange last win against UConn came on January 2, 1996 at Manley Field House, 62-59. SU has lost nine straight on the road to the Huskies, dating back to a 68-51 win at Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 15, 1992.
THAT HASN’T HAPPENED IN QUITE SOME TIME
FOUL SHOOTING KEEPS SU IN IT VERSUS RUTGERS
