Ashley McMillen drove hard to the hoop and laid the ball in as time expired. The basket was inconsequential because the Orange had lost 74-68, but it was noteworthy because it was only the second field goal made by a Syracuse bench player.

When four SU players have scored ten or more points, the Orange has won every time this season – except on Saturday. Nicole Michael led the team with 20 points and 15 rebounds, as she becomes more of a go-to player every game. Fantasia Goodwin, Vaida Sipaviciute and Mary Joe Riley joined the freshman in scoring double figures, but the rest of the Orange accounted for just seven points.

‘You always want people to come off the bench and produce,’ head coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘We’ve got to keep scoring all around.’

Three players subbed in for the Orange against Central Michigan – McMillen, Keri Laimbeer and Anne Marie Boidock. They totaled 41 minutes and combined for only five points.

McMillen returned to the SU lineup on Dec. 2 after missing the first six regular season games due to a knee injury. The senior emerged as an immediate catalyst, scoring 12 points in her first game and adding another 14 in her second contest. Since then McMillen has been much quieter, being held to just five points in each of the last two games.

Hillsman said one reason for her lack of production recently is that she is still adjusting to playing every game. Because of the short bench – only seven scholarship players dressed against Central Michigan – McMillen was not allowed to ease her way into the lineup.

‘She didn’t come back playing five minutes a game,’ Hillsman said. ‘She came out averaging 28 minutes a game.’

While Hillsman may have preferred to have worked his lone senior into the games more slowly, McMillen said she has not been affected much by the transition. She said she was comfortable on the court but thinks she will only progress as the season goes on.

‘I think it will take time,’ McMillen said. ‘I think it will come once we get to play with each other a little more and find each other a little more.’

McMillen’s greatest strength for the Orange over her career is her ability to shoot, especially from long range. She showed that strength in her first two games, connecting on eight 3-pointers, but in her last two games, she was held to just two from that range.

The rest of the Orange did not fare much better from 3-point land, shooting just 1-8 in the first half. The poor shooting did not discourage SU as it continued to shoot from long distance and improved to 5-16 on the game.

Fantasia Goodwin scored three of her 16 points from behind the arc. The junior insisted that despite the high number of attempts, the team’s strategy is not to constantly shoot.

‘We only shoot when we’re open,’ Goodwin said. ‘We like to drive to the basket and get fouled. We don’t settle for 3’s.’

Published on December 15, 2006 at 12:00 pm