It only took one game, but the Syracuse women’s basketball team quickly established what its early-season offensive foray would be: 3-point shooting.

The Orangewomen opened their season by tying the school record for 3-point attempts with 35 in a 66-59 victory at Binghamton on Nov. 22.

As if to dispel the notion that the first game was a fluke, Syracuse put up 35 more 3s against Massachusetts on Nov. 25. The Orangewomen also set a new school mark for successful 3-pointers with 15 in that 62-54 victory over the Minutewomen.

Syracuse (3-2) will need to rely on its outside game when it takes on George Washington (1-2) at 7 tonight at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C.

‘We’re starting to get into a bit of a groove,’ SU head coach Keith Cieplicki said. ‘I was watching lots of scores this morning and the one thing I noticed is that it’s all pretty much about establishing consistency. And that’s what we’re trying to do.’

The one thing that Syracuse has consistently done, though, has been to shoot 3-pointers. Only five games into the season, Syracuse has attempted 148 3-pointers – nearly 30 per game. With a 33 percent outside shooting mark, the Orangewomen are averaging 9.6 3-pointers a contest.

If SU keeps up its current pace, it will make 250 of 759 3-pointers for the year.

To put that staggering number into perspective, Syracuse attempted 442 3-pointers last year, while making 155 of them. The season average of 35.1 percent was the highest Syracuse has ever had. And the 155 makes were the second highest total, ranking only behind 2001 when it made 179 3-pointers.

‘Overall, our percentage is above average and I think that has to do with our shot selection,’ Cieplicki said.

He pointed to Sunday’s 60-46 win against Navy as evidence of how an improved inside game translated to outside success, especially in terms of shot selection.

Junior center Chineze Nwagbo recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Cieplicki thought Nwagbo’s play down low opened up the outside for SU’s perimeter shooters.

‘We feel like with Rochelle (Coleman), Julie (McBride), Lauren (Kohn), and Sarah (Wegrzynowicz), we have four good 3-point shooters,’ Cieplicki said.

It shouldn’t be terribly surprising that Syracuse has attempted so many 3-pointers. With an undersized team and a plethora of talented outside shooters, Cieplicki has emphasized the importance of taking quality outside shots.

As coach of Vermont last year, Cieplicki’s Catamounts ranked No. 22 in the nation in 3-point attempts per game.

McBride hasn’t been surprised by the team’s reliance on 3-pointers. The only surprise for her is that the team hasn’t shot better.

‘I know everyone on the team can shoot it,’ McBride said. ‘But our percentage is not as good as I thought.’

Tonight’s game against George Washington will provide another opportunity for the Orangewomen to display their shooting prowess. It’s also the second year in a row that Syracuse will play the Colonials. Last year, George Washington won on a last-minute 3-pointer, 67-66, in Manley Field House.

‘We owe them from last year,’ McBride said. ‘They’re a very, very good team. They have some good outside shooters and a big girl in the middle.’

Cieplicki also made reference to the ‘big girl in the middle’ – 6-foot-4 senior center Ugo Oha. She the leads the Colonials in points per game with 15.7 and rebounds with 8.7 and along with fellow senior guard Cathy Joens, provides a powerful offensive attack.

Both Joens and Oha were preseason Atlantic 10 first-team selections, and Joens is last year’s conference Player of the Year.

While Syracuse will be battling the fatigue of traveling close to 10,000 miles in the past week, the Orangewomen are anxious to battle a perennial Top 25 caliber opponent.

‘We’ve begun to establish a little bit of our identity,’ Cieplicki said. ‘We’re really eager to see how far along we are. It’ll be a good test.’

Published on December 3, 2003 at 12:00 pm