HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut flowed up and down the court with ease, scoring at will and stopping its opponent on the defensive end almost as easily.

Syracuse, on the other hand, turned the ball over 16 times, shot 30 percent from the field and allowed more points than it has in any game this season.

The difference between a team that’s won the last three women’s basketball national championships and a team that starts three freshmen was completely apparent Saturday at the Hartford Civic Center. Syracuse lost, 85-49.

‘We’ve done a better job other times of being more poised offensively,’ Cieplicki said. ‘The biggest things we’ve talked about is taking care of the ball and making shots. Connecticut did those things today and we did not.’

With Vaida Sipaviciute, Jessica Richter and Mary Joe Riley starting, and Amanda Adamson also seeing playing time, the Orange (11-14, 3-11 Big East) almost always have three freshmen on the court and the majority of scoring comes from them. SU scores 57.8 points per game, and 33.3 come from freshmen.

But on Saturday, UConn (18-6, 11-2) silenced the freshman class. The Huskies pressured them and put them in situations to make mistakes. And as most young players would, the SU freshmen played right into UConn’s plan.

The four freshmen scored 22 points, and if it wasn’t for a solid performance from Riley, it could’ve been much worse. Freshmen accounted for nine of the 16 SU turnovers.

After torching No. 10 Rutgers for 21 points on Feb. 16, Richter scored only four points against UConn. The Huskies never gave Richter an open look. But instead of passing, Richter maintained confidence in her shooting and took shots while heavily guarded.

Ultimately, Syracuse paid the price as Richter never found her form and finished the game 2-for-13 shooting. She failed to make any shots from beyond the arc, an area where she leads all Big East freshmen with 1.67 3-pointers per game.

While Richter carried her team on Wednesday, against the Huskies she had more turnovers than points. Richter committed a team-high five turnovers.

‘One of the issues we are still struggling with is if Jess Richter is not making shots, we don’t have a lot of choices,’ Cieplicki said. ‘A team like UConn has a lot of choices.’

But it wasn’t only Richter that struggled against UConn.

When UConn decided to go into the post to forward Charde Houston, Syracuse was faced with a matchup even Cieplicki admitted was one-sided. The veteran Houston thoroughly outplayed Sipaviciute, scoring 20 points, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking four shots.

Sipaviciute managed six points and seven rebounds, but played much of the game with a look of confusion on her face as two or three Huskies roamed around her on both sides of the floor.

One factor in the freshmen’s ineffectiveness may have been exhaustion. Saturday’s game against UConn was SU’s fifth game in two weeks. Among those five opponents are four of the top five teams in the Big East. And with teams nearing the conference tournament, the level of play is much higher.

‘This time of year is tough,’ UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. ‘You’ve been going all year. It takes a toll on you.’

Still, Cieplicki will take the loss at UConn if it means greater success in the future. He remains optimistic about the Syracuse freshmen even in the midst of a six-game losing streak.

‘The best thing about being a freshman is being a sophomore,’ Cieplicki said. ‘We keep reminding them that. This is a great year of experience and we’re trying to win games, but in the long run, we can get better. This is a positive for us.’

Published on February 20, 2005 at 12:00 pm