CHICAGO – She stood all alone with her blue and orange gym bag draped over her shoulder. One by one the Syracuse women’s basketball players exited the locker room, and one by one the faces of players who will play again a year from now passed by. Everyone will return – everyone but senior Jill Norton.

‘It’s been quite a ride,’ Norton said. ‘There have been a lot of changes and a lot of adjustments, but in the end I think that I’m a lot stronger and willing to adjust to different situations.’

The SU women’s basketball team fell to No. 14 DePaul on Tuesday night on Senior Night at the DePaul Athletic Center, 82-57, in front of 3,325. It was the final game in a season filled with many mismatches – a season that left a young, oft-injured Orange squad (9-18, 2-14 Big East) without a Big East tournament berth for the first time in history.

Syracuse finished in the bottom of the 16-team Big East and the graduating Norton serves as the only person in the program who has been around longer than three years. She is the last Orange to play for former head coach Marianna Freeman and serves as walking history to what has been a tumultuous few seasons for SU.

‘I think a lot of it came down to confidence,’ Norton said. ‘I think if we had gotten some wins earlier it would have made confidence better. Coming into a schedule like that at the end of the season, it makes things difficult.’

The schedule Norton mentioned can easily be summarized: In SU’s final five games they played the conference’s top five teams.

Tuesday night was similar to many of the recent contests for the Orange. Outmatched by a bigger, deeper and better shooting Blue Demons squad, SU tried to match its opponent’s up-tempo style.

‘They were fast,’ said freshman guard Jenny Eckhart, who scored eight points. ‘They really pushed it and that gave us a lot of problems.’

Syracuse trailed, 30-20, with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. Then DePaul showed why it is an NCAA Tournament-bound team. The Blue Demons hit a pair of 3-pointers and separated from the Orange going into the break with a 39-23 lead.

DePaul played 16 players in the game – 13 of whom scored – and from the opening tip appeared to be the stronger team. Khara Smith, one of four seniors playing her final game for the new Big East squad, led the way with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Smith is already a two-time All-American, and Syracuse had no answer for her.

For SU, sophomore Vaida Sipaviciute played confidently throughout, leading the Orange with 16 points.

The 16-point halftime deficit ballooned in the second half to as many as 35 points following a 16-2 DePaul run before the Orange chopped into the lead. Through the whole game, SU head coach Keith Cieplicki sat quietly on the bench, talking to his team only during timeouts.

‘I think they’ve done a remarkable job; I just feel that they knew coming in this year they were going to take their lumps,’ Cieplicki said. ‘They’ve done a fantastic job, injuries hurt us most, just not playing with a full deck, and after that youth, because that gets exposed a little bit more.’

Cieplicki, who wrapped up his third season, now has an overall record of 28-55. Speculation and questions about his job will come to the forefront in weeks to come, but the youth, injuries and stacked schedule should not be overlooked.

‘It is exciting, and I have thought a lot about (next season), and it’s gotten me through a lot of days,’ Cieplicki said. ‘We lose Jill this year and Tracy next year, and we know this is the core and the future and success of the future is young. This is the group we expect to take us to the NCAA Tournament, and with a year under their belts, that is something to build on.’

Published on February 28, 2006 at 12:00 pm