CHICAGO – Ten minutes before the Syracuse and DePaul women’s basketball teams tipped off Tuesday, a man walked to the basket where Syracuse was shooting. He stared at freshman guard Jenny Eckhart and shouted, ‘Hey, just keep shooting it.’

Eckhart rifled around with her trademark crescent smile and nodded.

The Orange concluded the 2005-06 campaign with an 82-57 loss to the Blue Demons at the DePaul Athletic Center.

But for Eckhart, there was much to smile about. Of the 3,325 fans on hand, several hundred of them were there for SU’s freshman from Libertyville, Ill. – located 40 miles from DePaul’s campaign.

‘I’d say it’s more bitter than sweet,’ Eckhart said, ‘When I am playing at Syracuse, my friends and family can watch me play on the Internet, so they’ve seen me play before. But the loss tonight makes it bitter.’

Midway through the first half the Illinois All-State selection last year connected on a 3-pointer that sent the crowd into its loudest pro-Syracuse roar of the night.

Eckhart is the all-time leading scorer at Carmel High School with over 1,700 career points. Some of Eckhart’s former teammates came to the game wearing shirts saying, ‘I played with Jenny’ plastered across the front.

Eckhart, who scored eight points in 38 minutes, signed autographs and took pictures with family and friends after the season-ending defeat, kept the smile present even after the loss.

‘We really have improved,’ Eckhart said, ‘It’s hard to see that because of the wins and losses, but we have come together a lot as a team this year.’

Even with the season ending on a down note – SU faced three top 15 teams in its final four games and dropped seven straight to end the season – Eckhart didn’t lose her optimism or omnipresent smile.

‘I’m just excited about starting our postseason workout and improving in our individual skills,’ Eckhart said. ‘Just working together and getting ready to go next year.’

Published on February 28, 2006 at 12:00 pm