HARTFORD, Conn. – As the Syracuse women’s basketball team took the court for the tip-off at the Hartford Civic Center on Saturday, the entire sell-out crowd of 16,294 stood and began to methodically clap until Connecticut scored its first field goal.

And that’s when it hit the Orange – it wasn’t in Manley Field House anymore.

The crowd didn’t have to stand for long as UConn scored on its first possession, then promptly went on a 12-0 run. Syracuse’s fate was sealed in the first four minutes and the Orange lost a game that was never close, 85-49.

‘This isn’t a great place to start that way,’ said Syracuse head coach Keith Cieplicki. ‘It made it tough. When (the deficit) gets to 15 or 20, it gets tougher and tougher. We’re a little tired. I don’t know if it’s intimidation as much as it’s learning.’

If the crowd didn’t rattle the young Syracuse lineup early, then UConn’s shooters certainly did. The Huskies hit open shots from outside the SU (11-14, 3-11 Big East) zone on its first two possessions. When the Orange adjusted the zone, Connecticut (18-6, 11-2) passed inside to forward Charde Houston and exploited SU’s freshman center Vaida Sipaviciute.

With the Huskies easily beating the SU defense, the Orange seemed more anxious on the offensive end. UConn only added to the anxiety when Syracuse had the ball, cutting off lanes and forcing the Orange to play from the outside.

Sipaviciute had six points and senior forward Chineze Nwagbo failed to score.

‘We put it on the floor when we caught it today too quick,’ Cieplicki said. ‘Now the defense can take things away from us. When shooters come out and bang you in the zone early, it shakes you when you’re young.’

Senior guard Rochelle Coleman and freshman guard Mary Joe Riley were the only Syracuse players that didn’t seem rattled. Coleman once again was the main cog in the SU offense, scoring a season-high 19 points and making countless hustle plays while the rest of the Orange remained stagnant.

Riley, starting her fifth game this season, continued her late-season emergence by scoring 10 points.

‘It was very exciting playing in front of a lot of people,’ Riley said. ‘It was kind of different because there were more people watching.’

The crowd watched four UConn players score in double figures. Houston ended up with 20 points, and forward Ann Strother added 16. The Huskies scored well over their season average of 69 points, while allowing less than its defensive average of 50 points.

And while UConn flourished on both sides of the ball, SU wilted.

‘It’s no accident you score that many points,’ said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. ‘The team we played (Saturday) didn’t really make an attempt to guard us. Tuesday, I think (Pittsburgh will) guard us better than these guys did for whatever reason.’

Published on February 20, 2005 at 12:00 pm