Albany head coach Trina Patterson had a specific game plan against the Syracuse women’s basketball team. She wanted to shut down SU’s two leading scorers, Chineze Nwagbo and Lauren Kohn, Tuesday night.

Patterson’s team did as she asked, holding the pair to 14 combined points, but couldn’t overcome the Orange’s full-court pressure and deep bench, losing, 66-56, at Manley Field House.

‘I was real pleased with our energy tonight,’ Orange head coach Keith Cieplicki said. ‘We got a lot of contributions from different people.’

SU (6-1) placed nine of its 11 players in the scoring column, led by freshman Amanda Adamson’s 14 points and Krystalyn Ellerbe’s 13 points, both career highs. Adamson made her first career start at forward, pitching in with four rebounds, three assists and four steals in her 28 minutes. ‘What I liked was without Chineze on the floor tonight, we kept playing,’ Cieplicki said. ‘I think we play best when we get after (opponents). (The press) allows us to play everybody and to really use our depth. It doesn’t always kick in the first half. You have to believe it’s going to happen.’

Nwagbo played only seven first-half minutes after being relegated to the bench for picking up her second foul. Kohn only shot 1-for-9, but the team defense and the bench contributions proved too much for the Great Danes (4-2).

The press took a while to extend the margin. Syracuse trailed, 29-28, at halftime, but the persistent pressure forced 11 second-half turnovers and SU eventually pulled away. Albany had faced Bucknell earlier in the season and had a season-low nine turnovers against 40 minutes of full-court defense. But a quicker Bucknell team doesn’t have the same size and length as Syracuse.

Ellerbe was the only undersized player Albany faced, but she hurt them the most. The senior kept the lead at 10 points twice late in the half with two jumpers. She shot 6-for-9 for the game.

‘We practice the press all the time,’ Ellerbe said, ‘and we’re all comfortable in it. No matter what type of press it is, it works. When you’re out there on the floor, you can’t worry about if you’re tired or not. You have to come in and make plays.’

That’s just what the SU bench did. Forward Sarah Wegrzynowicz subbed into the game with 14 minutes left in the second half and immediately knocked down a baseline jumper. She followed that up with two tough layups in traffic, one assisted by Nwagbo.

Ellerbe was the top player off the bench, though, spearheading the Orange defense and sharing steady minutes at the point guard position with freshman starter Jessica Richter.

‘I’m just so ecstatic for her,’ Cieplicki said of Ellerbe. ‘She’s really developing into her potential. She’s doing a great job with the ball, and I really think she’s enjoying herself. When I see someone like Krystalyn from where she started last year with me, and I see her now, I just continue to see these players grow and get better. That to me is the best part.’

Published on December 7, 2004 at 12:00 pm