On an evening when the Syracuse women’s basketball team’s offense was off its game, the defense looked like it could keep the Orange alive. Instead, struggles in one key defensive area hurt SU’s hopes for a comeback: making the transition back to the offense.

The Scarlet Knights continually grabbed offensive rebounds that gave RU important second-chance points in the Orange’s 68-40 loss Wednesday in the Carrier Dome in front of 209 fans.

Rutgers finished Wednesday’s game with 20 offensive rebounds and 43 total rebounds as RU’s strong rebounding paved the way to a 28-point victory over the reeling Orange, which lost its eighth-straight game.

The Knights rebounding prowess was ignited by center Kia Vaughn, who successfully attacked the basket time after time.

‘Trying to rebound against Kia Vaughn is pretty hard,’ Michael said. ‘She’s an amazing post player. She’s an old teammate of mine, and she’s a great player. And it is kind of hard to rebound against her but like I said we just have to play hard. That’s all there is.’

Syracuse also put up impressive numbers on the offensive boards as the team finished with 16 offensive rebounds and 35 total rebounds. However, Rutgers jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game. And the early lead combined with the offensive boards allowed the Knights to control the pace of the game.

The double-digit lead Rutgers held for most of the game meant the offensive rebounds served as an opportunity for RU to take its time resetting the offense.

When Syracuse made a run in the second half to cut the deficit to 10, Rutgers played keep-away against the Orange. The Knights would take the shot clock down before firing up a shot and if Rutgers snagged the offensive rebound, it would begin the process all over again.

Vaughn, the powerful 6-foot-4 sophomore for Rutgers, went back and forth offensively with Syracuse center Vaida Sipaviciute. Vaughn scored 21 points while Sipaviciute finished with 17 points, moving Sipaviciute within nine points from scoring 1,000 during her career at SU.

The rebounding was how Vaughn made her mark. She grabbed seven offensive rebounds and added six defensive boards to Sipaviciute’s five total rebounds.

When it comes to rebounding, the problem that bothers SU head coach Quentin Hillsman comes not from the inside, but from the speedy guards who continually have added to SU’s rebounding woes.

‘We have to get more rebounding out of our guards,’ Hillsman said. ‘We’re doubling down on the post, so every time the ball goes inside we’re doubling down. So we need someone to really rotate out of our double down … and find the body and box out. It’s a thing we just have to do a better job at.’

Against Rutgers the case appeared no different. The Scarlet Knights’ guards hounded the offensive glass the whole game.

Last year’s Big East defensive player of the year Essence Carson and Heather Zurich made their presence felt underneath. Both Carson and Zurich had six rebounds. Carson might have had the highlight of the game when she flew in from the wing to tip in a missed jumper during the waning seconds of the first half.

Although Hillsman was disappointed in the team’s loss, he believes if SU can attack the glass better, it could soon be Syracuse ruling the offensive rebounds.

‘They had (offensive) 20 rebounds and we had 16 (offensive) rebounds,’ Hillsman said. ‘So I think overall when you look at offensive rebounds I think we did a good job of rebounding the ball also. I think they got a few long rebounds that hurt us in the game. Kia Vaughn was just an animal on the boards today.’

Published on February 13, 2007 at 12:00 pm