Wednesday, January 25
South Orange, N.J.
7:00 p.m.
Syracuse University
64
at
56
Seton Hall
Jenny Eckhart became the first student-athlete since 1994-95 to score 200 points in her freshman campaign.
1/25/2006 10:08:27 PM | Women's Basketball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Syracuse Orange snapped its season-long six game losing streak with a 64-56 triumph against Seton Hall at Walsh Gym on Wednesday, Jan. 25. The win also breaks SU’s eight-game regular season BIG EAST losing streak and is its first win of the 2006 calendar year. The Orange used full court pressure in the second half to force 15 turnovers in the final 20 minutes. Freshman Jenny Eckhart (Libertyville, Ill.) tallied 17 points in the victory to become the first student-athlete since Raquel Nurse in 1994-95 to score 200 points in her rookie season.
SU used its defensive pressure to force 27 turnovers in the game while recording 13 steals, both season bests. The effort helped the Orange overcome a 29-22 deficit at the break.
Eight of the nine Orange student-athletes that saw action were able to score points. Junior Tracy Harbut (Lexington, Ky.) registered 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Redshirt freshman Sara Antolick (Bethlehem, Pa.) secured a game-high 11 rebounds, and freshman Keri Laimbeer (Orchard Lake, Mich.) was strong off the bench with eight points and four boards in 11 minutes of action.
Along with its defensive intensity, SU shot much better from the field in the second half. In the opening stanza, the Orange shot 31.4 percent (11-35) from the floor. After the break, SU went 15-29 from the field, a 51.7 percent clip.
Midway through the first half, SU trailed 14-10. Seton Hall opened its largest lead of the game with seven unanswered points to take a 21-10 lead with 6:02 remaining. SU responded with six straight points of its own to pull within five, 21-16, at the 4:37 mark. The Pirates pulled away again with a 7-2 run to push its lead back up to 10, 28-18, with two minutes left in the half. Heta Korpivaara scored the last four points for SHU in that stretch. The Pirates headed into the half with a 29-22 advantage.
SU’s defensive intensity sparked a 15-4 run to open the second half to take a 37-33 lead at the 13:39 mark. Freshman Brittany Smith (Milwaukee, Wisc.) scored six of her 10 points in that span. Seton Hall tied it back up, 37-37, with the next four points in the game, but the Orange responded with a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the game up to that point, 46-39. With SU up 54-51 at the 3:25 mark, head coach Keith Cieplicki was assessed a technical foul, and Brittney Messina sank a free throw to bring SHU within two. After the technical, the Orange closed out the game on a 10-4 run to capture the 64-56 win. Sophomore Vaida Sipaviciute (Kaunas, Lithuania) scored the final four points for the Orange.
Seton Hall (6-12, 3-4) was led by Amber Harris who totaled 14 points. Korpivaara notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but also committed eight turnovers.
The Orange (8-11, 1-7) heads back to the road on Saturday, Jan. 28 when it travels to Providence to take on the Friars in a 2:00 p.m. tilt.
Friday, October 23
Friday, October 23
Friday, October 23
Friday, October 23
