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AND SO WE MEET AGAIN
Syracuse and Louisville meet for the second time in 2005-06 when the two clash at Freedom Hall on Sunday, Feb. 12. The Cardinals are the only foe the Orange will see twice this season due to the new BIG EAST scheduling alignment, which has school’s playing 14 teams once and one team twice. Louisville got the better of the Orange in the first encounter, posting a 90-73 triumph at the Carrier Dome on Jan. 3 in its first home league game of the season. The Cardinals buried 12 three’s in the first meeting and shot 52.5 percent (31-59) from the field, both season bests for an SU foe. Louisville’s 90 points is the most surrendered by the SU defense this year and most the Orange has ever given up under head coach Keith Cieplicki. The Orange weren’t slouches from long range either, connecting on a season-high seven triples, including a 3-for-3 performance from behind the arc from Jenny Eckhart. SU’s 73 points represents the highest scoring total for the Orange at the Dome this year.
A SORT OF HOMECOMING
Junior forward Tracy Harbut returns to her home state of Kentucky when SU’s squares off against Louisville on Sunday. Harbut is a native of Lexington, which is located approximately 77 miles from Louisville. She attended Bryan Station High School where she earned first-team all-state honors from the Lexington Herald-Leader and the Louisville Courier-Journal. Harbut averaged 13.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.1 blocks as a senior and was chosen to represent the state of Kentucky in the Kentucky-Indiana Basketball Series.
MINISTER OF DEFENSE
For the second straight season, sophomore center
Vaida Sipaviciute has etched her name on the Orange’s single-season blocks ledger. The Kaunas, Lithuania native rejected two shots against Georgetown to boost her season total to 52, which ranks 10th all-time (see page 5 for complete list). She is three swats away from tying Chris Palombi for ninth on the single-season list. Palombi recorded 55 blocks in 1981-82. Sipaviciute led the BIG EAST with 64 rejections last year and she already ranks fifth on SU’s career blocks ledger with 116.
I KNOW YOU
Freshman Brittany Smith and Louisville’s Helen Johnson are both natives of Milwaukee, Wisc. The two attended rival high schools in the same conference. Smith went to Riverside, while Johnson played for Washington. The two players met on the court twice when Smith was a sophomore and Johnson was a senior.
SMITH HAS CAREER NIGHT VERSUS GEORGETOWN
In SU’s most recent outing, versus the Hoyas, Smith exploded for a career-best 13 points. She was 6-of-9 from the field in the game and also nailed her only free-throw attempt of the contest. Smith also contributed seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action. She scored 11 of her points in the final eight minutes of the first half as the Orange came back from 12 points down to get within two of the Hoyas at the half.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
After losing three straight, Louisville has rebounded to post consecutive league wins over Marquette (Feb. 4) and Pittsburgh (Feb. 8). The Cardinals own a 15-6 overall record and are 6-4 in conference action. Coach Tom Collen’s outfit has been particularly tough to beat at home. His team is 9-1 at Freedom Hall this season. Louisville is led by a pair of post players (Missy Taylor and Jazz Covington). Covington, a preseason All-BIG EAST selection, leads the club in scoring at 13.2 points per contest. Taylor ranks second at 11.0 points per game. Both players are shooting at least 50 percent from the field (Covington, 53.9%; Taylor, 50.0%). Four players (Taylor, Covington, Connie Neal and Jessica Huggins) have started all 21 games for the Cardinals. Nine players average more than 13 minutes per game, but no one on the team averages more than 29.8.
THE SYRACUSE-LOUISVILLE SERIES
This marks the third time that SU and Louisville have gone toe-to-toe on the hardwood. The first meeting between the two clubs came on Nov. 30, 1986. Orange great Felisha Legette led SU to a 73-62 victory at Manley Field House, notching a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. The Cardinals won the second matchup, 90-73, on Jan. 3.
Tracy Harbut netted a career-best 24 points in the meeting, but it wasn’t enough as Louisville had four scorers in double figures, including Missy Taylor, who led the club with 20 points.
Sunday’s clash is the first meeting between the two schools in Louisville.
Syracuse vs. Louisville Facts & Figures
All-Time Series: Tied, 1-1
First Meeting: Nov. 30, 1986 (Syracuse 73, Louisville 62)
Last Meeting: Jan. 3, 2006 (Louisville 90, Syracuse 73)
Last 10 Meetings: See series record
Current Streak: UL, 1
Coach Cieplicki’s Record vs. Georgetown: 1-3 (at Vermont 0-0; at Syracuse 0-1)
