Nicole Michael dribbled the ball just to the right of the free-throw line, crossed over to her right and took to the basket. The freshman forward banged into the Louisville defender, drew a referee’s whistle and kissed a lay-up off the glass. The play caused the Syracuse bench to explode, with even the injured players jumping up from their seats behind the bench.

Michael’s free throw cut the deficit to 40-38, with 13:10 remaining in the game, but it was the closest SU would come to the Cardinals for the rest of the contest.

Despite the high energy from the outset, the Orange could not overcome No. 23 Louisville down the stretch, falling to the Cardinals, 68-56, Saturday in front of 485 at the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said he does not believe in moral victories, but he was pleased with the intensity his team displayed throughout the game.

‘I told them, ‘The mark of a team with some pride is after someone knocks you down, how are you going to get up?” he said. ”Are you going to get up and run or are you going to get up and fight?’ They really fought and I’m really proud of them.’

The Orange had plenty of reasons to be energized for this game. Just two weeks ago, SU was manhandled by the Cardinals in a 98-50 blowout that Fantasia Goodwin said was disrespectful. Also, it was Senior Day and the Orange looked to send Tracy Harbut and Ashley McMillen off on a high note.

‘Last game (against Louisville) we didn’t come out as strong as we did this game,’ Michael said. ‘We knew they weren’t that much better than us. We wanted this more than anything.’

Syracuse hung in with Louisville through most of the game, staying within 10 points of the Cardinals for the first 31 minutes. Then, Louisville junior guard Toni Slaughter woke up from a scoreless game and added 11 points in 1:03 as part of a 15-4 Louisville run that broke the Orange’s back.

Slaughter said she could tell Syracuse was pumped up for the game and it showed in their effort, even as Louisville was beginning to break away.

‘We could tell that they wanted it more,’ she said. ‘You could tell that they felt like it was their game.’

After the run, the game was not in doubt for the last eight minutes. But after the final horn sounded, Louisville head coach Tom Collen recognized that he saw a better Syracuse team on the floor than he saw in the first meeting.

‘We knew it was going to be a tighter game,’ Collen said. ‘There’s no way we are 40-50 points better than Syracuse.’

The game was not without its bright spots for the Orange. With 1:12 remaining and the outcome no longer in doubt, Michael connected on two free throws, tying and then breaking the single-season scoring mark for a freshman at SU. Her team-high 17 points on the day gave her 470 for the season, putting her ahead of Martha Mogish’s 469 in the 1977-1978 season. Her 12 rebounds also gave Michael her third-consecutive double-double and team-high ninth on the season.

Michael now needs 18 points in SU’s last game to break the school’s single-season scoring mark.

During the game, Michael said she and her teammates just wanted to make Louisville respect them because SU is not a bad team. Junior forward Vaida Sipaviciute said she thought that goal was achieved, even without the win.

‘If you come out strong, you show a team that you are not ready to give up, you are going to fight,’ Sipaviciute said. ‘That’s what gets you respect.’

Published on February 25, 2007 at 12:00 pm