All the pieces fell into place. But with the finish line in sight, the Syracuse women’s basketball team stumbled in its last chance to qualify for the Big East tournament.

The Orange received a record-breaking performance from star freshman Nicole Michael and all the scenarios SU needed to play next weekend took place – except for the one Syracuse controlled. Cincinnati defeated SU, 59-54, Monday at Fifth Third Arena in Ohio.

The final slot in the tournament opened up when Big East cellar dweller Villanova upset Providence and No. 23 Marquette beat St. John’s on Monday. Syracuse needed to defeat Cincinnati to advance to the Big East tournament.

Eight minutes remained in the game when SU head coach Quentin Hillsman learned a victory by Syracuse would seal the team’s berth in the conference tournament. A Syracuse athletics official informed the coach of the sequence of events.

When Hillsman learned of the fortuitous wins, he tried to motivate the team by telling them the prospect of reaching the postseason existed within the team’s grasp.

‘We talked about it in our last media timeout,’ Hillsman said. ”Hey look, we’re right there. The things happened that we needed to happen and we need to go out there and play as hard as we can.”

Even an outstanding effort by Michael was not enough to secure SU’s bid to Hartford, Conn.

Down the stretch, the freshman took command of the offense after the Orange experienced a six-minute scoreless streak, when the team’s two-point advantage turned into five-point deficit. With her team’s postseason hopes on life support, Michael tallied the last 13 points of the game. Nevertheless, Syracuse fell short.

Michael set the school’s all-time single-season scoring record, finishing the season with 501 points. Holly Oslander held the record since her 488 points during the 1990-91 season.

Michael finished the game with a career-high 31 points. She benefited her outstanding game by sinking all 12 of her free throws. Additionally the freshman, who frequently reaches the foul line because she prefers to drive at the defense instead of taking outside shots, knocked down three of four 3-pointers. She shot 24 percent from beyond the arc coming into the season finale.

But she did it with little help.

Coming out of the timeout with three minutes left and UC leading, 48-45, the Bearcats hit some clutch free throws that prevented the Orange from reducing the three-point deficit. The Bearcats hit seven of its final 11 free throws to eliminate Syracuse from tournament contention.

One reason explaining SU’s failure to top the Bearcats was the absence of Fantasia Goodwin, who missed the game because of a back injury. While Michael had improved production, she could not make up for the missing starting forward.

Goodwin, one of three players to average double figures on the team, dressed for the game. She practiced before the tip-off, but Hillsman said she looked shaky warming up and the coach decided to sit her to avoid any risk of worsening the injury.

‘She couldn’t get going,’ Hillsman said. ‘It was a tough decision to make. It was tough for her.’

Mary Joe Riley stepped up in place of Goodwin. Riley drained four 3-pointers for the Orange, but Syracuse missed Goodwin’s 6-foot frame on the boards.

Cincinnati crushed Syracuse on the glass, out-rebounding SU 46 to 28. The Bearcats also picked up 24 offensive rebounds to Syracuse’s lone offensive board. Hillsman believed the problems rebounding the ball ultimately doomed the Orange, who took a 28-22 lead into halftime before the Bearcats rallied back for the win.

Although, the loss ended the SU season on a sour note, Hillsman remains optimistic about the future. The Orange has its best-ever recruiting class – 11th in the nation – for the 2007-08 season, according to All-Star Girls Report. Erica Morrow, SU’s first McDonald’s All-American, highlights the group. Syracuse will lose only two seniors from this year’s team, guards Ashley McMillen and Tracy Harbut, who missed the entire year with a knee injury.

Hillsman refuses to let the team’s season-ending loss define the whole season, the head coach acknowledged one of his goals at the beginning of the year was to make the Big East tournament.

‘I think the thing about the whole season is you can’t base your whole season off of one loss,’ Hillsman said. ‘We know it was a big loss. We had a chance to win that basketball game and go to the Big East tournament. It’s definitely a big loss.’

Published on February 27, 2007 at 12:00 pm