The Syracuse women’s basketball team desperately searched for a remedy that would halt its seven-game losing streak and fix the offensive drought that has produced just 44.7 points per game during that span.

Head coach Keith Cieplicki tinkered with his starting lineup, which had remained the same for the entire Big East season, by benching veteran Rochelle Coleman for up-and-coming freshman Tracy Harbut. He even gave the Orangewomen the green light to push the tempo – something he scolded them for doing earlier this year.

But despite all of their changes, the Orangewomen fell victim to the same recipe for defeat as they had in their previous seven contests by getting outmuscled and outrebounded by physically stronger opponents.

Backed by a 50-29 rebounding advantage, Seton Hall handed Syracuse its eighth straight conference loss, 78-71, in South Orange, N.J., on Saturday.

‘(Cieplicki) coached a great game with the way he handled substitutions and the game plan,’ said senior point guard Julie McBride, who scored 36 points. ‘We just got outrebounded. And that’s pretty much been the story all year.’

McBride gave the Orangewomen something to cheer about when she scored her final two points of the game on a layup with 20 seconds remaining. Those two points gave her 1,526 for her career and moved her into a first-place tie with Felisha Legette as Syracuse’s all-time scoring leader.

‘It was funny because Krystalyn (Ellerbe) came into the game and told me I was one point away (from breaking the record),’ McBride said ‘But I really didn’t want to get it against Seton Hall. It didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to get it at the end of the game, after we knew we were going to lose.’

Syracuse (6-16, 3-9 Big East) kept the game close during the first half, as the two teams recorded seven ties and five lead changes. But after McBride hit two free throws to force a 25-25 tie with 5:24 left in the half, the Pirates (14-8, 6-5) went on an 8-2 run that gave them a 33-27 halftime lead.

Seton Hall then reeled off a 6-0 run to pad its lead in the opening minutes of the second half. After Syracuse’s up-tempo offense countered to cut the lead to seven, 41-34, with 13:21 left, a glimmer of hope remained. But SU wouldn’t come any closer, as the teams traded points for the rest of the game.

With eight players eclipsing 6 feet, Seton Hall demonstrated why it is leading the conference averaging 41.6 rebounds. Meanwhile, Syracuse ranks last with just 30.4, and considering SU starting center Chineze Nwagbo got in early foul trouble and sat all but seven minutes Saturday, the disparity grew even bigger.

The junior center said she might have been overly aggressive, considering a couple of her fouls came while boxing out and going for offensive rebounds.

‘I don’t mean to be critical of her, but they aren’t smart fouls,’ Cieplicki said. ‘You got to give yourself a chance to play. The same rules apply to everybody. (Nwagbo) has to understand that and adjust her game a little more to stay in the game.’

Cieplicki said he doesn’t know why Nwagbo has been struggling lately. Problem is, he isn’t the only one who’s wondering why.

‘There’s been a large dip in my scoring and rebounding,’ Nwagbo said. ‘I really don’t know why. I don’t have the same confidence I did at the beginning of the season. That’s due to a lot of reasons that I don’t want to really mention right now because I don’t think it’s appropriate. I’m trying to figure out myself, honestly. I have no idea.’

Chalk it up as another factor Cieplicki must take into account when devising the next plan to reverse SU’s losing ways. As for Saturday, he came close.

Cieplicki said Harbut played well in her first career start, and although she didn’t attempt a single shot, she created opportunities on offense and minimized mistakes. Meanwhile, the fast-paced offense shot 41 percent from the field while committing just 12 turnovers.

Since those statistics basically mirrored SHU’s, it leaves the undersized Orangewomen with one glaring fundamental: rebounding.

‘There’s no question over the last five or six games that’s been the difference,’ Cieplicki said. ‘I sincerely think if we block out the way we are capable of, we’ll rebound better. We’re not good enough at blocking out to get it done right now.’

Published on February 16, 2004 at 12:00 pm