For one minute, Erica Morrow did what was expected of her.

With Syracuse swapping leads with Northeastern late into the second half, SU needed a lift. It needed someone — anyone — to step up and take over the game.

And Syracuse’s senior leader Morrow did just that. Despite an awful shooting night — 2-of-16 from the field — she put the team on her back for that crucial one minute.

‘I don’t think I had hit a shot all night, so definitely a relief for me,’ Morrow said. ‘But more importantly, to give us that cushion.’

In a span of 49 seconds, Morrow scored six points and had a steal. But it was the other 39:11 where she struggled, scoring just one point and shooting 0-for-13 from the field. Morrow’s night said it all for Syracuse, as the Orange trailed for most of the game against Northeastern — a team picked to finish dead last in the Colonial Athletic Association — before pulling out the win, 72-69.

‘This was a game where her heart and her determination and her physicality really overwhelmed the other team,’ SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said.

But Syracuse’s win was no sure thing. And the Orange needed every contribution it got from its leader.

Morrow’s 3-pointer with 4:01 to go gave SU a four-point cushion — its largest lead of the game to that point at 63-59. After Northeastern cut the lead back to one, she got to the line and made 1-of-2 free throws. And then, after missing a jumper from the corner, Morrow followed her own miss, sliding inside and making the putback to up the lead back to four.

A Morrow steal with SU in its full court press right afterward led to two more points, giving Syracuse a 68-62 lead that it managed to hold on to for the final three minutes.

‘Coach has me up at the top of the press to get up and pressure the ball, try to get deflections, rattle the point guard a little bit,’ Morrow said. ‘I was just trying to execute.’

Execution on defense was a must for Morrow because she couldn’t find her shot all night. She took just five shots in the first half and missed them all. By the time she knocked down the trey with four minutes remaining, she was 0-for-12.

Had she missed that 3-pointer, she would have been 0-of-13 and still scoreless. Those were her final stats in SU’s Big East tournament loss to Connecticut last season.

But Northeastern isn’t the No. 1 team in the nation. These Huskies ranked 237th in the nation last season in scoring defense.

Still, she executed in other ways. Morrow grabbed six rebounds, including four on the offensive end, contributing to the 37 offensive rebounds the Orange had on the night. And the rest of the Syracuse team picked her up, fighting for those offensive rebounds and scratching for a victory.

‘We’re a whole team, so we’re going to have each other’s backs,’ sophomore center Kayla Alexander said.

In the final seconds of the game with Syracuse up 71-69, Morrow was fouled and sent to the line for two shots, with a chance to ice SU’s season-opening victory. The senior coolly sank the first.

But Morrow, a career 72 percent free-throw shooter, clanked the second off the right side of the rim. Fortunately, SU won the scramble for the rebound as the final four seconds of the game ticked off, sealing the Syracuse victory.

It was a finishing touch on a forgetful shooting night for Morrow. But it was also a night when Syracuse was able to get the win despite the off game for its leader. That may be the more important lesson for the Orange.

‘At the end of the day, it’s about the win-loss column,’ Morrow said. ‘We got the win, and I mean I tried to help my teammates as much as possible.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on November 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr