Rochelle Coleman and Shannon Perry proved last night that they can do it all.

They just can’t do it all by themselves.

Perry scored 28 points and Coleman added 21, but only three other Orangewomen made it into the scoring column as the Syracuse women’s basketball team lost, 82-75, in overtime to Georgetown at Manley Field House. Syracuse (5-10, 0-4 Big East) missed its best opportunity yet to earn its first Big East victory.

‘I can’t ask of any more of Shannon (Perry) than what she’s giving,’ SU coach Marianna Freeman said. ‘People like (center) Jill Norton, (guard) Krystalyn Ellerbe, (center) Awa Diop — those people sitting on the bench are the ones that need to step up and provide some contributions. Until we can get that, we’re going to struggle.’

At Freeman’s request, players were not made available for comment after the game.

Among Freeman’s laundry list of underachievers, Norton was the worst culprit . The freshman started and scored zero points in 30 minutes, missing all four close-range shots she attempted. She couldn’t take advantage of the soft inside zone that Georgetown (11-2, 2-1) used, though puncturing the Hoyas’ defense was a large part of Freeman’s game plan.

‘Our post players aren’t very strong,’ Freeman said. ‘(Norton) doesn’t give us a whole lot offensively. We need to get eight to 10 points from her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t possess the confidence to give us that.’

Freeman said Norton started because of her defensive skills. But when Georgetown needed points, its first option was forwrad Rebekkah Brunson, who scored a team-high 25 points. Though SU tried to double-team Brunson late, she scored 11 points in the final eight minutes of regulation.

‘Rebekkah Brunson played better than both (Norton and Tierra Jackson),’ Georgetown coach Patrick Knapp said. ‘As the game wore, we tried to get her the ball.’

The burden that Perry and Coleman carried throughout the game took a harsh toll in overtime. Both played the whole game and were clearly tired in the extra session, as Georgetown outscored Syracuse, 11-4.

But it took a huge play from Perry just to send the game to overtime.

After a Mary Lisicky free throw put the Hoyas up, 71-69, Syracuse’s final possession of regulation began with 14 seconds left. Coleman’s inbounds pass was intercepted by Brunson, who lost the ball after falling to her back. April Jean retreived the loose ball and fed a pass to point guard Julie McBride, who hoisted a 3-pointer that struck only the backboard.

Perry, who had gained superior position underneath the basket, gobbled up one of her 15 rebounds and converted the putback, knotting the game at 71.

If some of the Orangewomen had played to Perry’s level, overtime wouldn’t have been necessary. The bench players’ deficiencies were most glaring when McBride was out of the game.

After the Orangewomen took their largest lead of the game, 48-41, with 12 minutes to play, Freeman substituted Ellerbe for McBride, who had three fouls. In less than three minutes, Syracuse’s lead had shrunk to two.

The disappointing play of SU’s reserves negated its most inspired play of the season. After a 17-0 run and 54.5 percent 3-point shooting powered Georgetown to 35-26 halftime lead, Syracuse reeled off the first seven points of the second half.

‘I thought we were on our way, then Julie picked up her third foul,’ Freeman said. ‘I pulled her out of the ballgame because I needed her down the stretch. We can’t maintain a lead because we don’t have a lot of scoring coming off our bench.”

Published on January 15, 2003 at 12:00 pm