After Syracuse’s opening loss to Siena last week, Julie McBride sat in front of a room of reporters and explained how her team would bounce back.

‘We have to go out, practice and refocus,’ McBride said. ‘Our next game is Vanderbilt. They’re top-25, top-10. So, that’s going to be a challenge.’

Whoops.

It’s true that SU needs to refocus for that game. But, the Orangewomen’s next opponent is Harvard (tonight at 6 in Cambridge, Mass.) — not Vanderbilt, who SU faces Tuesday.

‘I was confused,’ McBride said lightheartedly. ‘It was unintentional that I did that.’

‘She forgot that we had the Harvard game,’ coach Marianna Freeman said. ‘Our intention was to go a little bit further in that WNIT. I just think that was a Freudian slip there.’

While McBride misspoke, her slipped tongue may have revealed what’s on Syracuse players’ minds. The Orangewomen might be looking past Harvard — who they beat last year, 78-66 — and ahead to No. 11 Vanderbilt.

‘We can’t really look too far ahead,’ McBride said. ‘We have to make sure to get a win at Harvard. And then we have a great opportunity to redeem ourselves from the first game and beat a ranked team. But we still have Harvard. As soon as that game ends, I know I’ll be thinking about Vanderbilt.’

Freeman believes her squad will wait that long to think about the Commodores.

‘They’re not even looking in that direction, because we’re not even talking about it,” Freeman said. “They don’t even know what to expect. Vandy hasn’t even crossed their lips. It better not.’

Freeman’s concerns are understandable. Harvard is an experienced club that returns its leading scorer and rebounder from last season, junior Hana Peljto. Peljto scored 20.1 points and grabbed 9.5 rebounds per game last season, earning Ivy League Player-of-the-Year honors. Peljto and sophomore Reka Cserny form a daunting, low-post tandem.

A dynamic duo in the box — Liene Jansone and Gunta Basko — dominated SU in its loss at Siena.

‘We find ourselves in a very similar situation to (the) Siena (game),’ Freeman said. ‘Their (forwards) and (centers) are once again a very big part of their team. They both play inside and outside.’

With 6-foot-4 Awa Diop serving the second and third games of her four-game suspension against Harvard and Vanderbilt, Tierra Jackson, April Jean and Maja Omanovic need to improve on their disappointing season debuts. After Harvard’s tandem, Chantelle Anderson — Vanderbilt’s preseason All-American center — awaits.

Despite the challenge Anderson and the Commodores pose, the Orangewomen are excited about the chance to play a high-profile opponent.

‘When they have that ranking in front of their name,’ McBride said, ‘it’s like, ‘Alright, this is the opportunity.’ We have a great opportunity to redeem ourselves from the first game.’

But Harvard comes first. The Orangewomen are confident they can discard the Siena loss with a win over the Crimson.

‘The Maryland boys’ team lost their first game and ended up winning the championship (last year),’ McBride said. ‘We have to learn from (Siena) and go to Harvard not playing like we did against Siena. We have to go down there and get a win.’

Published on November 21, 2002 at 12:00 pm