Carmelo Anthony left Syracuse after just one year (and one national championship) to enter the NBA draft. SU women’s basketball head coach Quentin Hillsman is happy the WNBA doesn’t allow players to leave college early to enter its draft like in the NBA. If the rules were the same, Hillsman would probably have to say goodbye to his newest star player, Nicole Michael.

‘Thank God they don’t have that rule because she’d be gone after this year the way she’s playing right now,’ Hillsman said. ‘She could definitely be a first-round pick.’

Michael set a school record in the Orange’s 59-54 loss to Niagara on Sunday with 26 points, the most by a Syracuse freshman since the team started competing in the NCAA in 1981. The freshman also led the team with 16 rebounds in the losing effort and was named the Big East Conference’s freshman of the week. Fantasia Goodwin and Vaida Sipaviciute also scored in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

SU will be looking for a similar performance by Michael tonight when it travels to Colgate to take on the Red Raiders at 7 p.m. on Cotterell Court. But the Orange must find more scoring threats than Michael, Goodwin and Sipaviciute if it hopes to break its three-game losing streak.

‘We have to find that fourth consistent scorer,’ Hillsman said. ‘Right now we’re not getting that.’

Colgate has suffered a similar problem this year, with just two players averaging more than 10 points per game. Juniors Melanie Cargle and Caitlin Gillard lead the Red Raiders with 12.4 points per game each.

This season, Michael leads Syracuse with 17.6 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. After opening her college career with a disappointing five-point performance, she has emerged as the most potent scoring weapon for the Orange (1-4), leading the team in the last three contests.

Michael has shown that she is more confident on the court by driving to the basket. The freshman’s 20 made free throws are more than any player has even attempted on the season.

‘I feel much more comfortable,’ Michael said. ‘I can play my game much better because

I’m more of a go-to player now. I know my role on the team and it’s much easier.’

Still, Michael cannot carry the entire load for the Orange, which has failed to score 60 points in each of the last three games. Hillsman said one of the team’s goals is to have four players in double figures every game. Four players scored in double figures in the team’s lone win against Cornell on Nov. 15.

Junior Mary Joe Riley was the fourth player, in addition to Michael, Goodwin and Sipaviciute, to score at least 10 points against Cornell. Since that game, she is averaging just 5.3 points per game. She said Michael’s strong play in the last few games has helped the team, but it needs a stronger performance from the role players.

‘It takes a lot of pressure off us,’ Riley said. ‘But we also have to step up more to help to get a win. We have to try to score too, basically.’

When Michael leads the team in scoring it also takes pressure off of last season’s scoring leader, Sipaviciute. Hillsman said the junior co-captain has been facing triple coverage all season, opening up the floor for her teammates.

Even as Michael continues to improve, Hillsman thinks opposing teams will still focus on shutting down his center.

‘I still think that for a team to beat us they have to take Vaida away,’ Hillsman said. ‘We’ve proven that Nicole can score 26 and we can still lose. You have to have an interior presence, so I think Vaida is a key to what we are doing.’

Published on November 26, 2006 at 12:00 pm