The Orange made it to overtime before dropping an exhibition game to Team Adidas, despite playing only six scholarship players and two walk-ons.

On Wednesday, Lina Lisnere was supposed to be in the starting lineup, but she was on crutches Friday, along with Brittany Smith and Tracy Harbut. Sara Antolick and Ashley McMillen also failed to dress due to injuries. During the game, Cintia Johnson and Mary Joe Riley suffered minor injuries that forced them to miss time, and Vaida Sipaviciute and Nicole Michael fouled out, leaving the Orange with just six players in the final minutes of overtime.

Head coach Quentin Hillsman said the team prepared for having a short bench because so many players missed practice in the last week. He told his players in practice they needed to try a five-guard rotation in case something happened to the forwards.

‘I said it jokingly, ‘Vaida might foul out, Nicole might get strep throat,” Hillsman said. ‘And damn, Vaida fouled out and Nicole fouled out.’

The Orange relied on a steady rotation to stay fresh with such a short bench. All eight players were on the court for double-digit minutes and five players totaled more than 30 minutes of playing time.

Sipaviciute played 37 minutes before fouling out with 3:31 left in overtime. She scored 19 points and tallied nine rebounds and seven blocks in the game. The co-captain said the team worked hard on its conditioning and everyone was ready to play through fatigue.

‘It’s hard but you just have to suck it up and do what you have to do,’ Sipaviciute said. ‘In practice we prepare for playing a lot in case we don’t have enough players, so it wasn’t that bad.’

With both of the team’s seniors on the shelf, juniors Mary Joe Riley and Sipaviciute were the most experienced players on the court for the Orange. Riley did not start, but played 35 minutes off the bench and scored 11 points. She was able to provide experience and leadership late in the game, with Michael and Sipaviciute in foul trouble.

‘It’s all about stepping up,’ Riley said. ‘When somebody goes down you have to step up and play harder.’

Freshmen walk-ons Cassondra Covington and Anne Marie Boidock combined for 23 minutes of playing time. Covington scored two points in her first career game, but turned the ball over in the final seconds of regulation, leading to the game-tying basket.

After Johnson took a charge to give Syracuse the ball with 16.7 seconds left in the game, Covington took the inbounds pass near half court and dribbled the ball off her foot.

Hillsman said he was not discouraged by the play because Covington would not have been in the game if injuries hadn’t shortened the bench so much.

‘This is a kid who came to school to be a student and now is playing in the Big East,’ Hillsman said. ‘She just did the best she could. I tell you what, if I had to, I’d throw the ball to Cassandra again and she’ll dribble up and she’ll make the play next time.’

While the Orange played two walk-ons for significant time, Team Adidas features several players that hope to make the WNBA. Hillsman was pleased with his team’s performance, considering how few players SU had and the level of competition it faced.

‘For us to be in overtime with them,’ Hilsman said. ‘With two walk-ons, a freshman, a junior college transfer and Vaida being eight for 18, and we go into overtime, that’s pretty impressive and I’m pretty happy.’

Published on November 4, 2006 at 12:00 pm