In Saturday’s 75-50 loss to Boston College, Syracuse head coach Keith Cieplicki sat on his own bench opposite BC head coach, Cathy Inglese.

The two used to share the same bench when Cieplicki was an assistant under Inglese from 1993-1995 for Boston College. They started coaching together in 1991 when Inglese coached Vermont. They led the Catamounts to the NCAA Tournament in 1992 and 1993, winning 53 straight regular season games.

‘I wouldn’t be sitting here today if it wasn’t for her (Inglese),’ Cieplicki said. ‘She gave me my first opportunity to coach women’s basketball and I probably learned more in the years working with her than I’ve learned in any other period of my life as a basketball coach.’

Cieplicki eventually became the head coach at Vermont from 1997-2003, before taking over at Syracuse. He faced Inglese twice in his first season at SU, losing 59-52 at home, and 64-36 in the Big East tournament. Despite the wins, Inglese doesn’t enjoy competing against her former apprentice.

‘I really don’t like doing it at all,’ Inglese said. ‘The kid (Cieplicki) is a really good friend of mine. He’s doing a tremendous job and he’s turned this program around.’

‘(BC) just bears down a little bit when they know they have to get (a stop),’ Cieplicki said. ‘I don’t think about coaching against (Inglese), but it’s always nice to see her. I know her team’s going to be ready.’

One bright spot in SU’s loss was sophomore Tracy Harbut, who came off the bench to provide a lift, particularly on defense.

After remaining on the bench in the last four games, Harbut logged 23 minutes of action Saturday for the Orange.

She played six minutes in the first half, tallying four points, and played tough post defense against a much bigger Eagle front line.

Harbut started the second half over freshman Mary Joe Riley.

‘She’s been practicing hard and match up wise she created some problems,’ Cieplicki said. ‘She defends the post pretty well and as we opened up the floor and went to the motion, I thought it was a pretty good day for her.’

Associate head coach Matt Luneau was not at Saturday’s game. He is recruiting and may miss more games while he travels. … Freshman forward Sara Antolick has not played for the Orange since a Dec. 4 game against Massachusetts. She injured her left foot in practice and will have one more evaluation on her injury before attempting to gain a medical redshirt, retaining her four years of eligibility. An NCAA rule states that a player can only play in 20 percent of her team’s scheduled games, and those games must be in the first half of the season. A redshirt may not play in the second half of the season. … SU’s new athletic director, Daryl Gross, attended the game.

Published on February 13, 2005 at 12:00 pm