OLEAN — If Syracuse women’s basketball guard Shannon Perry isn’t satisfied now, she may never be.

Perry ended up with 15 points and 14 rebounds against the Bonnies, but was still displeased with her performance following the Orangewomen’s 58-48 victory.

‘I think I played all right,’ Perry said. ‘I’ve been getting after it on the boards, but I think I could play a lot better. I just have to work on some stuff right now.’

It’s difficult to understand what the 5-foot-8 guard could work on. Perry has recorded a double-double in five of SU’s first six games.

‘I have to work on shooting, being smart with the ball,’ Perry said. ‘I also wasn’t happy with my defense. I had silly fouls. That cost me the whole first half of the game.’

Two early fouls forced Perry to sit the final 12 minutes of the first half. So while Perry’s night looked potentially dominating from tip-off — the junior scored four points on two shots while grabbing six rebounds in the first eight minutes — she watched from the bench as SU traded baskets with St. Bonaventure. After grabbing an early 10-4 lead, Syracuse took a 29-24 lead into halftime.

Perry committed just one foul, scored 10 points and had seven steals after the break. Her theft of an inbounds pass with 1:20 left secured a Syracuse victory.

‘She does a great job in the back of that 2-3 zone by going and getting rebounds and reading pass lanes and getting steals,’ St. Bonaventure head coach Jim Crowley said. ‘She’s a walking stat line. She’s not only a talented kid, she’s a kid that is tough. She plays hard. And I think you’re going to see a lot of those kinds of nights from her whether they’re playing us or Connecticut.’

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McBride struggles

Julie McBride again struggled from the floor, shooting just 4 of 16, including 2 of 8 from three-point range. The junior shot 7 of 14 in SU’s 77-56 win at San Fransisco on Sunday. That is the only time McBride has made half her shots this season.

But Syracuse head coach Marianna Freeman insisted the team can play well even when McBride slumps.

‘One is not a strong enough number to make any type of significant greatness,’ Freeman said. ‘You can’t just ask questions about one player this, one player that, because it’s a team game.’

McBride is shooting 34 percent from the field this season.

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This and that

Syracuse center Tierra Jackson and guard Rochelle Coleman each struggled with their shot. Jackson was 4 of 12, Coleman 2 of 9. … The Syracuse defense has allowed 57 points or fewer in its last three outings. … SU is 2-1 this season when leading at the half. Last season, the Orangewomen were 13-1 in such situations.

Published on December 5, 2002 at 12:00 pm