NEW YORK – With a 10-point lead and only four minutes left to play, Syracuse felt it could breathe easy. A comfortable advantage and a strong performance mirrored that of the Orange back in December in the midst of its six-game winning streak.

But a trio of St. John’s jump shots and a pair of free throws vaulted SU back to reality. Back to games like Pittsburgh, Alaska Anchorage and Portland State – close games in which Syracuse would be forced to fight to the end for the valuable win.

The lead was down to three with less than two minutes to go.

‘They just didn’t give up,’ junior forward Nicole Michael said. ‘They just kept playing their game, that’s what they do. They were just being competitors.’

Facing the potential sting of a fourth-consecutive loss, the Orange held on Saturday to beat St. John’s, 79-78, here at Carnesecca Arena in front of 1,248 fans. The win is SU’s first in the Big East since Jan. 27.

‘You don’t understand how good this feels,’ SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘We just kept fighting, and our kids compete and play hard, and that’s one thing I love about them. Even in losing the games that we lost, they never gave up.’

The moment of relief, though abrupt, was a work in progress for the final 20 minutes of the game. After emerging from halftime down by four points, the Orange (15-9, 4-7 Big East) took over in the second half to build a solid lead.

SU out-rebounded the Red Storm, 28-11, while Michael and sophomore guard Erica Morrow more than doubled their first-half scoring outputs.

After ripping down a defensive rebound, one of her 12 total on the night, Michael drove the length of the floor, spotting up and drilling a jumper to give the Orange the 10-point lead, its largest of the game.

‘I just kept crashing the boards,’ Michael said. ‘I just kept on going.’

All the while, Morrow was setting the pace for the Orange. She diverted it from hasty or erratic possessions that usually plague the team heading into the final minutes of a game. With a mix of timely drives and swift passes, Morrow kept the St. John’s (15-9, 3-8) defense on its heels, allowing Syracuse to continue to score at a steady pace.

‘I was just taking advantage of certain matchups we were talking about,’ Morrow said. ‘My teammates just kept getting me the ball with great position.’ But just as Syracuse was settling in to its sizeable advantage, the Red Storm began to charge back.

After two consecutive St. John’s baskets and a missed Morrow jumper, Red Storm guard Kristin Moore drilled a long shot from left of the lane to bring the score within five. Instead of opting for the timeout, the Orange decided to press the ball upcourt.

As Tasha Harris let go of the inbounds pass heading toward half-court, St. John’s forward Centhya Hart charged and intercepted the ball, driving in and drawing a foul, shaving the Orange lead to three after making both free throws.

‘Coming down the stretch, especially in a tight game, we weren’t that far ahead of them and we knew that if we messed up one possession we would have to come back and score the next possession,’ Morrow said. ‘We had to cherish every one.’

But sloppy ball handling and poor shot selection eventually doomed the Red Storm in the waning minutes of the game. The team, playing without its leading scorer Monique McLean, who was suspended before Saturday’s game indefinitely for a violation of the university’s student-athlete code of conduct, suffered from an inability to capitalize in crucial situations.

Eventually, the Red Storm would cut the lead to one after a desperation 3-pointer by Britney Murphy, but with under two seconds left on the clock, all that was left for Syracuse to do was run the clock out.

As Michael grabbed the inbounds pass from Harris and time ran out, Hillsman had just begun to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

His team had survived.

‘It was a very, very good game for us to win,’ Hillsman said. ‘It’s the kind of win that keeps you around.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on February 15, 2009 at 12:00 pm