There is no use mentioning to Syracuse women’s basketball head coach Quentin Hillsman that his team has a game against No. 1 Connecticut on Saturday. The only thing Hillsman knows about the Huskies is they are undefeated.

He hasn’t spent any time dissecting their films. He even admits that he doesn’t know if they have improved since last season, or who they have played in their last five games.

This has left Hillsman essentially brushing off the idea his team could be playing a trap-contest tonight against Seton Hall (Carrier Dome, 7 p.m.), in which the Orange aims to improve to 9-0 at home. But the possibility always lurks, and the surrounding circumstances can make it appear that way.

‘I don’t look ahead because we’ve lost to last-place teams in our conference,’ Hillsman said. ‘We’ve played tough first-place teams, and we’ve beaten teams that were picked second (in the conference). So we take no game for granted. This will not be a trap game for us, and we’re not planning for anyone else than Seton Hall.’

Tonight’s game is sandwiched among several bigger contests for the Orange. On Jan. 6, the Orange knocked off No. 17 Rutgers at home in the squad’s first contest against a ranked opponent in over a month.

SU then traveled to Cincinnati on Saturday in hopes of its first Big East road win and prevailed, 71-70. And on Saturday, Syracuse gets to take on the top team in the nation, a squad the Orange almost beat last season.

This could leave the game against Seton Hall as a potential trap-game with a chance to beat the No. 1 team in the country for the first time a mere four days away.

But the players insist this will not be the case.

‘It could be an easy trap, but I think with the mentality of this team and us knowing what’s expected of us and what we have to do in order to win this game (tonight), we can’t overlook them,’ sophomore shooting guard Erica Morrow said. ‘They’re a very good team. They’re a very great defensive team, great rebounding team, so we know we can’t do that from experience.’

Helping the Orange in its quest for its third-straight victory will be home-court advantage. The Orange has been unflappable at home this season, winning all nine contests. SU has won 21 of its last 23 home contests, including 19 of 21 games played at the Dome. SU has also won its last 11 home games.

The home court advantage will be complemented with extra confidence coming from the team’s first Big East road win of the season. SU lost its opening Big East road contest against Cincinnati, but battled back from a 16-point deficit to take out the Bearcats. Winning such a game has the team riding high.

‘It was very big to motivate us that we can play as good away as we can at home,’ junior forward Nicole Michael said. ‘We like to protect our home court so if we have that same mentality away, it would be easier to play hard on the floor.’

While Hillsman and the players insist there will be no overlooking the Pirates, it could be easy to take the eyes off the steering wheel and look ahead to a shot to UConn. Doing so would give Seton Hall, which is sixth in the Big East in scoring margin with plus +14.9 points, a chance to pull the upset.

But if everything goes to plan, as the players and coach insist, there will be no talk of a trap contest in the post-game press conference. Only questions about the building block Seton Hall could provide into that contest.

‘We prepare so differently that if you know what’s coming up next, then you know how we operate around here because we don’t and we never have (looked ahead), ‘ Hillsman said. ‘We know every Big East game is important and winning games to get into postseason play. That means every game is equally as important.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on January 12, 2009 at 12:00 pm