Rochelle Coleman can only imagine what it would be like to defeat Connecticut. After all, the Syracuse women’s basketball team has lost 10 games in a row to the two-time defending champion Huskies. The last SU win came in 1996, a 62-59 victory at Manley Field House.

Coleman could see herself on SportsCenter with the rest of the Orangewomen. Stuart Scott calling the highlights – it might even be the night’s top story. She’d call her mom and make sure she taped it.

Though the scenario may seem unrealistic, Coleman can dare to dream. Syracuse will get its shot at glory tonight against No. 2 UConn at Manley Field House at 7.

‘We’re just going to play our game,’ Coleman said. ‘We’ll be ready to play. We want to come out so they have to match our level of intensity and match our energy.’

Energy is one thing Manley will not lack tonight. Senior guard Julie McBride has faced the Huskies (18-2, 8-1 Big East) twice before at home. In both those meetings, the Huskies came in ranked No. 1, and the crowd was much larger than normal. In 2002, more than 3,300 fans packed in to Manley to catch the action, well above the 600 fans the Orangewomen have averaged this year.

‘We came out of the gates pretty strong (in 2002),’ McBride said. ‘The crowd was in it for us. Then, of course, they ended up blowing us out. It was just nice to have a lot of people coming in. It boosted our attendance up.’

Both Coleman and SU head coach Keith Cieplicki are happy to have the large crowd but would prefer if people were coming to see the Orangewomen rather than UConn. Cieplicki said he hopes to build the program at SU to the point where it will draw large crowds on a consistent basis.

McBride stressed that the key to staying with UConn is not becoming intimidated by the aura of Connecticut’s program. SU will also have to contain Diana Taurasi, the Huskies leading scorer at 17.6 points per contest and a leading contender for National Player of the Year. Throughout the season, Coleman has drawn the assignment of guarding the opposing team’s best players. Cieplicki said he has yet to decide who will guard Taurasi, but said he hopes to use a rotation of players. He also will look to double-team Taurasi as often as possible.

‘You have to (feel like you can beat them) or they’ll eat you alive,’ McBride said. ‘The mentality is the biggest thing when you go in there. With all respect to them, because they’re a great team, when you step out on the floor, it’s just another game.’

Said Coleman: ‘(UConn’s ranking) is just a number. They’re a basketball team. They make mistakes just like every other basketball team. They have faults. If you overhype them, than you lose before you start playing.’

For the Orangewomen, a win would be key in their efforts to reach the Big East tournament. SU currently sits in the last qualifying spot for the tourney. A win would also be a major building block for a program Cieplicki is trying to build.

‘You don’t have a chance to beat No. 1 (in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Poll) that often,’ Cieplicki said. ‘You don’t even get to play No. 1 that often. It’s great that we have that opportunity.’

Published on February 10, 2004 at 12:00 pm