Junior guard Shannon Perry plays her first home game since being suspended for unspecified academic reasons when the Syracuse women’s basketball team faces Georgetown tonight at Manley Field House.

Perry, SU’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder, was forced to sit out Syracuse’s first two Big East games, both losses, against Virginia Tech and Miami.

But Perry was reinstated six days ago. She appealed the suspension in time to play in a 75-55 loss at Rutgers. The shooting guard started and scored eight points and had three rebounds, only the third time all season she has not recorded a double-double. She was unable to practice with the Orangewomen during her time off.

Perry and SU head coach Marianna Freeman have refused to give details of Perry’s suspension.

Freeman did say that Perry’s suspension came as a result of an SU rule, not an NCAA rule.

‘I’m glad to be back,’ Perry said in a statement. “I’m excited that I’ve been given the opportunity to stay in school.’

Losing Perry for the rest of the season would have been devastating for a young team that ranks last in the Big East in rebounding margin (minus-3). Perry leads the Orangewomen with 10.9 rebounds, good for second in the Big East. She’s SU’s second-leading scorer (16.7 points per game).

‘Anytime you lose a player, it’s going to affect the team,’ point guard Julie McBride said. ‘You lose what they contribute, because everyone is different and everyone contributes in different ways. So, yeah, obviously it did (devastate the team). I think everybody knows that.”

In the two games Perry missed, SU was outrebounded, 82-59. Guard Krystalyn Ellerbe started in Perry’s place. She had five rebounds and went scoreless in 78 minutes.

Academic troubles are familiar territory for Perry. She was suspended during her sophomore year for academic reasons but happened to be sidelined with a shoulder injury at the time. Freeman would not comment on whether the academic situations are similar.

‘We had to step up and find a way to deal with (Perry’s absence),’ Freeman said. ‘We stepped up but not well enough.’

Published on January 14, 2003 at 12:00 pm