Syracuse’s 19-11 win over Connecticut may mean that the Orangewomen have shaken a trend of starting off quickly and cooling off in the second half. Twice in their previous three games, they did just that.

The first occurred against Boston College on March 22, when a 7-3 halftime lead evaporated into a one-goal victory over the Eagles, 10-9.

Colgate then matched SU in the second half on March 27, 5-5, after the Orangewomen jumped out to an 11-3 lead.

Connecticut seemed to be following in the footsteps of BC and Colgate early in the second half when senior Pamela Lowie scored two quick goals to cut Syracuse’s lead to four.

‘We didn’t really play our game in the first half and dug ourselves into a hole,’ Lowie said. ‘Mentally, we got back in it and played more aggressively as a whole.’

Syracuse rallied behind sophomore Danielle Lillis, who found the net for the third time in the game one minute after Lowie scored the second of her goals. Connecticut never came closer than five for the rest of the game.

Lillis now has 19 points while starting in all eight games a year after scoring three points in eight appearances.

‘This year I’ve had more of an opportunity,’ Lillis said. ‘I’ve gotten the chance to play better.’

The Orangewomen as a whole started to play better after Lillis’ goal partly because they felt UConn closing on them in the second half, head coach Lisa Miller said.

‘We’re inspired in tight situations,’ Miller said. ‘The competitive instinct kicked in and stopped their lull.’

Two for the record book

With five goals and one assist, senior Carrie Soults moved into third place in Syracuse history in points (113) and goals (92). Soults passed Jenna Szyluk, who scored 90 goals and recorded 109 points in her career.

‘It’s something I don’t really think about,’ Soults said. ‘But it’s certainly nice.’

With two points, Soults can tie assistant coach Lauren Brady for second place all-time.

Still, the tri-captain was more impressed with junior Kim Wayne’s record-setting, 10-point day.

‘What did she have, 18 points today?’ Soults said jokingly.

NBA resemblance?

Junior Kim Wayne and NBA point guard John Stockton share one thing – both love the assist. Wayne tallied seven assists against Connecticut while Stockton dished out 14 when the Jazz played the Los Angeles Clippers the same day.

When asked how many times the two have been compared, Wayne responded, ‘just once.’

Key play of the game

Goalkeeper Carla Gigon stopped 11 shots, increasing her total this season to 85 saves. The most critical save of the game came against Lowie on a free position with the score 10-5.

‘She’s a great athlete,’ Miller said. ‘She controls the defensive unit and gives us an opportunity to score.’

Filling the seats

Saturday’s crowd of 792 made it the largest home draw of the season. The previous season high came March 10, when 733 turned out to see No. 5 Maryland.

Published on April 1, 2002 at 12:00 pm