The Syracuse women’s basketball team took many lessons from its trip to Cancun over the Thanksgiving holiday.

In defeating Old Dominion, 65-32, Thanksgiving Day, the team learned it could win in dominant defensive fashion, as SU held the Lady Monarchs to just 13.3 percent shooting and 11 points in the second half.

And in its 80-64 triumph over Butler on Friday, the Orange learned it could claw its way back from a deficit, falling behind by eight early before quickly rebounding.

In between, the team learned how to jet ski.

‘We did that before one of our games, and then we were able to get some rest,’ Morrow said. ‘So that was good to loosen us up. We weren’t as tight.’

When all was said and done, only Morrow – a self-described ‘speed demon’ out on the water – could master jet skiing.

But the entire team improved on the court last weekend, with the team off to its best start since 1997-98, when the Orange started the season 7-0.

As Syracuse (6-0) prepares to take on Wagner College (2-3) tonight at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome, it looks to build on the team-building experiences from its trip to Cancun.

The first revelation from the Cancun trip was that this year’s Orange has a group where a different player can carry the load each game.

Last Sunday against Binghamton, it was senior forward Nicole Michael who paced the team with a career game, exploding for a career-high 36 points and matching a career-best with 17 rebounds.

Last weekend, it was Morrow’s turn. Morrow, who was named the Cancun Classic Most Outstanding Player and on Monday was also honored as the Big East Player of the Week, averaged 22.5 points in the two contests. She is the first Syracuse player to be named Big East Player of the Week in four years.

‘Erica deserves it, and I hope she has many more Big East Player of the Week awards,’ freshman center Kayla Alexander said. ‘She is a talented player. A leader. She works hard in practice every day.’

Alexander also played a big role in the victories, netting 18 points against Butler.

‘We have great coaches and teammates who help each other out,’ Alexander said. ‘We’re always there to give each other pointers.’

The second revelation was that the Orange can take complete control of a game without the help of its offense.

Twice this season, the Orange has held its opponent to under 15 points in a half. If not for a last-second Old Dominion 3-pointer last Thursday, SU would have held the Lady Monarchs under ten points.

‘It’s just about giving them one shot,’ Morrow said, ‘one opportunity. It’s just going to come down to the little things.’

SU will rely on its defense once again as it prepares to take on a Wagner team that lives, and dies, by the 3-pointer. Over the team’s five games, the Seahawks have attempted over 16 shots per contest from beyond the arc.

\'(Wagner has) three good shooters on the wings so we have to get out and contest shots,’ head coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘We are going to get out and play a lot of defenses and give them different looks.

‘We’re going to be tested with our guards getting out and closing out the paint.’

The third lesson from the Cancun Classic experience is something the team will take with it for the rest of the 2009-10 campaign.

The grind of playing two days in a row, the confidence-builders of wins and the team-building exercises of jet skiing were all important as the Orange moves ever-closer to Big East conference play.

‘It was big for our progress,’ Morrow said of the trip. ‘It’s a confidence booster. Playing two great teams like we did, we showed that we could come together and do that.’

And Hillsman and players raved about the SU team chemistry that was built during the trip, culminating with the jet skiing exercise.

For her part, Michael steered clear of the jet skis. She can’t swim well, so she doesn’t venture anywhere near deep water. But even from the sidelines, taking pictures and laying in the sand, she watched as it brought the team together.

Said Michael: ‘It helps any game you play if the team bonds together off the court and has trust in each other.’

bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on December 1, 2009 at 12:00 pm