April Jean had a message for Tierra Jackson.

Just before the tipoff of the Syracuse women’s basketball team’s game against Villanova on Saturday, Jean — who had been replaced in the starting lineup by Jackson — took the freshman aside and shouted in her ear.

‘She told me to go out there and do my thing,’ Jackson said.

Jean’s instruction was less inspiring than she hoped. In 40 minutes, Jackson scored two points on 1-of-7 shooting and committed four turnovers.

‘I know Tierra is a much better player than what she’s played for us,’ SU head coach Marianna Freeman said. ‘I know that she’s not extremely happy with the way that she’s been playing, because she knows that she could play better. With freshmen, you just never can tell.’

Jackson’s play wasn’t all bad. She grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots.

Jackson — usually the first Orangewoman off the bench — was forced to start, because Jean caught a flu that had spread through the team.

Despite being in poor health, Jean asked to play Saturday, and Freeman obliged. Jean played 31 minutes, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Syracuse needed an athletic forward to gobble up starting center Jill Norton’s minutes. Norton started but played just nine minutes — none in the second half — because her game was poorly suited for Villanova’s 3-point shooting.

‘She was the odd person out,’ Freeman said. ‘She really didn’t match up well when we needed to go man. That was the only reason that she wasn’t there.’

Home, bitter home

Syracuse continues to play pitifully at home. With the loss, the Orangewomen drop to 0-5 in the Big East at home and 2-8 overall in Manley Field House. They haven’t won at home since Jan. 2, when they beat Cornell, 76-47.

‘We’re not really taking care of Manley,’ McBride said. ‘We haven’t played well here. Cornell is the last game we won, and that was over a month ago.’

Earlier this year, Freeman claimed her players get distracted at home with class and friends. On the road, they concentrate on only basketball, she said.

McBride quelled that notion.

‘I don’t know the answer,’ McBride said. ‘You ask us this every day. I don’t know, honest to God, I don’t know. I feel like I’m focused, and everybody else is pretty much focused on the game and what we’re supposed to do. Teams come in here and shoot the lights out on us.’

Nash bridges

Villanova shooting guard Kelly Nash provided quite a spark off the bench. In 23 minutes, the junior scored 17 points, shooting 5 of 10 from 3-point range.

‘That happens a lot,’ Nash said. ‘I get lucky, because they concentrate on these two (point guard Trish Juhline and shooting guard Katie Davis). So every once in a while, they forget about someone, either me or (forward) Nicole Druckenmiller, and that’s when we get them.’

This and that

The 44 points tied a season low for Syracuse. The Orangewomen also scored 44 points in a four-point loss to Seton Hall on Jan. 21. … After starting the season with nine double-doubles in 11 games, SU guard Shannon Perry failed to record one for her third consecutive game. … Syracuse got seven days of rest before the game. It was the most rest Syracuse has had in the Big East season. Said McBride: ‘We had a week to prepare. You can’t ask for more than that in the Big East. Especially for a team ranked No. 22.’ … The crowd of 2,118 was SU’s largest of the season.

Published on February 9, 2003 at 12:00 pm