Down by five at halftime, Syracuse needed someone to step up. Anyone.

After a first half where the Orange simply looked outclassed by Marquette’s half-court trap, a trap that led to 17 first-half turnovers, Syracuse was thirsting for some kind of offensive outburst to swing the game in its favor. The Orange appeared flustered in its half-court sets, scoring just 23 first-half points.

That offensive outburst occurred immediately as the second half started. It came almost exclusively thanks to two players — Juanita Ward and Nicole Michael.

Ward and Michael scored Syracuse’s first 14 of 16 second-half points, helping to turn a five-point deficit into a six-point lead. The spurt came in less than six minutes as the Orange took a 39-33 lead with 14:18 remaining in the game. From there on out SU didn’t relinquish the lead for the rest of the game, ultimately defeating the Golden Eagles 69-60.

‘Juanita and I are both leaders, so we have to play our role in keeping the team motivated and scoring,’ Michael said. ‘We do whatever we can to get the team back in the game.’

Heading into the half, Michael was the only SU player to tally more than five points with nine. She quickly attempted to match that output with six points during the six-minute stretch.

The senior, who was recognized before the game for becoming the program’s all-time scoring leader in the Orange’s Feb. 2 87-80 road victory over Pittsburgh, put the Orange on her back yet again. Michael attempted seven shots during the span, connecting on two.

‘Nicole Michael – slinky was slinky,’ SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘She was very aggressive and went to the basket. They were keeping us out of the paint, but we had to keep going and being aggressive. That is a situation where we want to play our game.’

But the real revelation at the beginning of the second half was feeding Ward. After failing to connect on a field goal in the entire first half, Ward made two layups within the first 50 seconds of the second half to draw Syracuse within one possession at 30-27.

During the entirety of the six-minute span, Ward scored eight points on 4-4 shooting from the field.

For Hillsman, it was a welcome sight after the senior failed to register an attempted field goal in the first half.

‘That was it,’ Hillsman said. ‘We were just attacking the basket and not going to the basket double-pumping and things like that ’cause they do a really good job up in coverage. They don’t give you lanes. They don’t give you repeated cuts.’

In Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell’s mind, it was that attacking mentality from Ward that really turned the game in Syracuse’s favor. Mitchell couldn’t find an answer for Ward during that stretch as Ward went 100 percent from the field.

‘I thought (Ward) was the spark that got them going,’ Mitchell said. ‘We had a lead and she really came out on fire. She did a great job of attacking.’

With the regular season coming to a close, Syracuse needs Michael and Ward to continue to propel the team in order to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. With six games remaining, SU stands at 5-5 in Big East play. Hillsman has harped all year on the fact that if SU finishes 8-8 in conference play they should be fine.

With that then, it must be refreshing to a freshman like Carmen Tyson-Thomas to see the team’s veterans turn the momentum of a game. And Tyson-Thomas, Saturday’s star with 14 points off the bench, was quick to acknowledge that after the game.

She was glad to say it. Even with her performance the team wouldn’t have had a chance without Michael and Ward’s play during that stretch. Period.

‘It is a good feeling (to know you can rely on Ward and Michael),’ Tyson-Thomas said. ‘They do it in practice, too. We have the same situations in practice, and they will take big shots and make big plays in practice. It is a good thing that we have dependable players like that.’

aolivero@syr.edu

Published on February 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm