The end-of-game flashbacks came pouring in for Erica Morrow.

Granted, this situation was a little different. It was near the end of the first half, and Syracuse trailed No. 8 West Virginia by seven. But with the clock winding down, Morrow admitted the turnover that cost SU its game against St. John’s on Jan. 27 came to mind.

In that game, Morrow had her pocket picked as she dribbled hectically from side to side. On Monday, nothing of the sort occurred. Instead, the junior patiently worked the clock for 20 seconds. No need to rush.

With eight seconds left, she finally moved, eventually drilling a 3-pointer as the clock expired to pull the Orange within four.

The buzzer-beater at the end of the first half was the highlight of Morrow’s night as she carried the Orange to its most resounding win of the season, a 67-48 triumph over the Mountaineers Monday. The guard led the Orange with 23 points, also registering five rebounds and five assists.

And with that: lesson learned.

‘One thing that (SU head) coach (Quentin Hillsman) has been teaching me about the game through mistakes is that, if anything, you have to get the ball up on the rim,’ Morrow said. ‘That’s just me going back to what he has always taught me and getting a basket at the last moment possible so that they couldn’t have another possession.’

It was Morrow’s first game back after serving a one-game suspension in the Orange’s 74-71 loss to DePaul Saturday due to throwing a punch in SU’s loss to No.1 Connecticut Wednesday.

‘She played aggressive,’ Hillsman said. ‘I think she is the reason tonight that we won the basketball game.’

Morrow controlled the pace of the game almost entirely by herself. After a slow start for both herself and the team — Syracuse made just four of its first 30 shots and Morrow started 0-for-7 — Morrow took the game into her own hands. For the last 27 minutes, she settled in exclusively at point guard.

With every possession, Morrow corralled the ball and did what she wanted, when she wanted. If she wanted to speed up the game, she viciously attacked the basket. If she wanted to drag the game to a snail’s pace, she didn’t have a problem holding the ball –cradling it at times — waiting for the shot clock to wind down.

It was a scene of explicit composure from Morrow that was far from the mood she exhibited against St. John’s.

Following the game, she had a chance to reflect on that fact. It did, after all, cross her mind during the game. When asked by a reporter whether or not she felt she may have waited too long to unleash that 3 at the end of the first half, she came clean. That game against the Red Storm affected her actions against the Mountaineers.

‘Did I (almost run out of time)?’ Morrow said jokingly about the buzzer-beater. ‘It was just, at the end of the St. John’s game we were up one, and, long story short, the shot clock was running down and I turned the ball over.’

For the remainder of the game, Morrow was seemingly the lynchpin whenever a big moment occurred.

‘Anytime (Morrow) is on the floor it relaxes me a whole lot,’ SU senior Juanita Ward said. ‘She can make any kind of decision. I mean, she is a great player.’

With the Orange clinging to a 44-39 lead and Michael nursing her injured right foot, Morrow drilled a 3 from the top of the key to give Syracuse an eight-point advantage.

Seconds later, Mountaineer head coach Mike Carey burned a timeout even though there were just 15 seconds before the under 12-minute TV timeout.

Then, with just 2:16 remaining, Morrow’s floater extended SU’s lead to more than 20 points for the first time at 65-44.

It was just another moment, though, on a night full of fruition for Morrow.

A night of full of vindication after the lost game.

‘I owed it to them to play hard,’ Morrow said. ‘I feel like whatever my team needs me to do, at that moment, is what I need to do.’

aolivero@syr.edu

Published on March 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm