Last night, Jacquelyn Walker had an instant message waiting on her computer courtesy of her sister Stephanie.

“ur gonna lose”

Not to be outdone by her younger sister, Jacquelyn responded.

“no you are”

In the Walker household, that’s trash talk. Saturday, one sister will have to eat her, well, text, as Jacquelyn’s Syracuse women’s lacrosse team hosts Stephanie’s Loyola squad in the Carrier Dome at 5 p.m.

This sibling rivalry won’t just be over Walker-family bragging rights. No. 11 Syracuse (9-4, 5-1 Big East) is playing for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, and No. 1 Loyola (13-0) is playing to preserve its status as the country’s best team.

A win over Loyola would be just what SU needs, as the Orangewomen enter the final stretch of their season on life support. Head coach Lisa Miller said her team would need to win its remaining two games in order to guarantee a spot in May’s NCAA Tournament. She said winning one game would put SU’s fate in the hands of the selection committee.

Miller said Loyola and its No. 1 ranking won’t faze the Orangewomen.

‘It’s not like we’ve been running and hiding (from elite teams),’ she said.

True, the Orangewomen beat then-No. 3 Virginia, 12-11, to open the season March 1 and outlasted No. 12 Cornell, 12-8, on April 16. But Loyola is a different monster.

‘Loyola is more physical than we’re used to,’ Miller said. ‘That’s something that we’re going to adapt to. We can’t play that game. We’re just not big enough.’

Jacquelyn — a starter on defense — will have to try. She faces the scenario of guarding her sister, who has 25 goals and five assists this season. Since this is first time the sisters have faced each other, it might take the pair a few minutes to adjust.

After that, Jacquelyn said, Saturday’s game will be normal. But six years ago, the sisters didn’t even expect this situation. Both thought they would attend Syracuse and play for the Orangewomen together — just as they always did.

As teammates, their Baker High lacrosse team won the New York state championship Jacquelyn’s senior year. But that was the reward reaped from hours of playing catch in the backyard and pick-up games with neighborhood kids. Though Jacquelyn is one year older than Stephanie, they remain inseparable.

‘There’s always that sisterly love,’ Jacquelyn said. ‘That and beating each other up.’

Despite all the tough love, it was Jacquelyn that got Stephanie into lacrosse. When Jacquelyn started playing in seventh grade, Stephanie followed suit that summer.

As 13-year-olds, they attended Miller’s camps at SU. Both vowed they’d eventually become Orangewomen. But they followed separate paths at Baker. Eventually, Jacquelyn chose SU because it had her preferred major, bioengineering, while Stephanie selected Loyola, traditionally a better lacrosse school.

Although both were three-sport stars in high school, lacrosse seemed to be the only common link. That and fighting.

They’d fight epic lacrosse battles in their Baldwinsville back yard. They’d even fight in the home. But did they ever fight over boys?

‘God no,” Jacquelyn said. “We have completely opposite taste in boys.’

At least bickering over stolen crushes was one less thing their parents, Lou and Ellie, had to worry about. Both serve as SU’s swimming coaches, but they’ll put their allegiances aside for Saturday’s game.

‘We hope for both to play well,’ Lou said. ‘My heart lies right in the middle. It’ll be a great event either way. But as the Wide World of Sports saying goes, ‘At the end of the day, we’re both going to experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.’ ‘

Published on April 24, 2003 at 12:00 pm