The Syracuse women’s basketball team finished last season with a 6-21 record, including a first-round exit in the Big East tournament. Star guard Julie McBride graduated, and with her went the bulk of the Orange’s scoring.

But a five-player recruiting class, ranked 24th in the country by the Blue Star Index recruiting service, is just what second-year head coach Keith Cieplicki wanted to start the rebuilding of the program.

‘It’s kind of neat,’ he said, ‘because everyone brings a little something different. You look for that, but you don’t always get it. I think for our first class, we couldn’t really ask for much more.’

Amanda Adamson, Mary Jo Riley, Sara Antolick, Jessica Richter and Vaida Sipaviciute comprise that melting pot of talent. They make up the first class of SU players brought in by Cieplicki. The remainder of the roster is left over from the Marianna Freeman era.Adamson, a 6-foot guard from Littleton, Colo., brings versatility to the backcourt.

‘In terms of players,’ Cieplicki said, ‘she can do a little bit of everything. She’s going to be a nice all-around player that gives us different things throughout the course of the game.’

Adamson took interest in schools across the country, including New Mexico, Mississippi State, Santa Barbara, Colorado and Colorado State.

She may have the easiest transition to college basketball, having played for one of the most elite AAU programs in the country, the Colorado Hoopsters. Some alumnae include Ann Strother and Liz Sherwood of Connecticut, Emily Fox of Minnesota, Jamie Carey of Texas and Katy Flecky from Notre Dame.

‘She’s used to playing at a high level,’ Cieplicki said.

Riley, a 5-foot-9 combo guard, comes from a small basketball program in Michigan. She was ranked as the 100th best player in the class of 2004 by the National Roundball Journal. She was a four-year team captain at Robichaud High School, and the AP voted her first-team all-state. She averaged 28 points, six assists, eight rebounds and three steals in her final year.

‘She can just flat out score,’ Cieplicki said. ‘Mary is just a tremendous overall athlete.’

Riley considered scholarship offers from TCU, Michigan State and Buffalo before signing with the Orange.

‘I came on my visit,’ she said, ‘and I liked it. It was real nice. I didn’t want to go too far, and I didn’t want to stay at home.’

Riley’s roommate, the 6-foot-4 Sipaviciute, is far from home. She is a native of Lithuania and a member of its national team. She played last year in North Carolina for the Patterson School and head coach Quentin Hillsman.

Associate SU head coach Matt Luneau is good friends with Hillsman, enabling SU to find out about the international post player early. Sipaviciute has a nice touch from 15 feet and in, while Cieplicki will try to get her to play in the post more.

‘Vaida’s going to be an outstanding player,’ he said. ‘She’s got great skills at 6-foot-4 and she runs the floor. She’s mobile and has good hands.’

Sipaviciute’s future counterpart in the frontcourt will be the 6-foot-3 Antolick. She was also an all-state volleyball player for Allentown Central Catholic High School in Pennsylvania. She comes from another prestigious AAU program, the Philadelphia Belles. Sue Bird, of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, is a former Belle.

‘(Antolick’s) really athletic,’ Cieplicki said, ‘catches everything, runs (and) is real strong.’

SU had to contend with Georgetown and St. Joseph’s to get Antolick’s services. She was ranked as high as No. 69 in the country and wanted to stay fairly close to home. It also helped that Cieplicki played basketball with Antolick’s second cousin at William & Mary.

Richter was late signing with Syracuse. She considered attending BYU and Santa Barbara.

She comes from one of the most successful high school programs in the country, Oregon City High School. Her team won back-to-back state championships in 2003 and 2004 under national coach of the year Brad Smith.

‘The people are all great,’ Antolick said. ‘Adjusting is just kind of getting in a routine.’

Without a winning record or championships to use in recruiting battles, Cieplicki has relied on the Big East’s reputation and the entire Syracuse campus for help.

‘I can’t say enough about Coach (Jim) Boeheim,’ he said. ‘The guy’s taking time for our recruits and really helping our recruits to believe that the women’s team can be as successful as the men. I’d like to be half as successful as the men.’

Cieplicki also values something many people might overlook.

‘Everybody we brought here feels that the people at Syracuse are just great people,’ Cieplicki said. ‘From the administration here to the people you meet on campus to the students to the community.’

No freshman is guaranteed a starting spot or a load of minutes. Cieplicki said it’s hard to adjust to an elite conference from high school, especially since nationally contested AAU ball is completed at the end of girls’ junior years.

‘We want as much as they can give us,’ Cieplicki said. ‘We have a good core back and they have to be the foundation for the year. Hopefully the freshmen can gain experience and gain confidence. We just need to be patient with them. There will be times when they are really good and times when they will struggle, but we just have to let them grow and mature.’

Published on November 8, 2004 at 12:00 pm