HARTFORD, Conn. — The captains’ meeting at halfcourt before a basketball game allows two teams to size up one another. It’s a proud tradition as old as the game itself.

But the captains’ meeting before Syracuse played at No. 1 Connecticut last night didn’t make SU head coach Marianna Freeman think of tradition or sportsmanship.

It made her think of Mini-Me and Webster.

‘When the captains were meeting, you could see my little midgets,’ Freeman said after SU’s 75-51 loss. ‘You could see UConn’s captains. They were so much bigger than us.’

The Huskies used that height advantage to dominate Syracuse in rebounding. The Huskies compiled 57 rebounds, dwarfing SU’s 27.

‘We were playing a 6-feet-and-under team,’ UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. ‘If we can’t get that many rebounds against them, then there’s something wrong.’

Auriemma said the frontcourt combination of Barbara Turner, Willnett Crockett and Jessica Moore — 6 feet; 6 feet, 2 inches; and 6 feet, 3 inches, respectively — gave the Huskies an incredible advantage.

‘It’s something that we try to do all season,’ Turner said. ‘Attack the glass and run off the fast break.’

Last night, that was as easy for the Huskies as it’s been all season. Syracuse employed a 3-2 zone, meaning only two post players stayed inside.

Even so, Freeman said the Huskies had other advantages besides their height difference.

‘I think that my team was a little tentative,’ she said. ‘Each time we started to box out, it was a foul. I shouldn’t be saying that, because I might not be coaching my next game. But I gotta say the truth.’

Not Perry nice

After scoring just 20 points combined in SU’s last two games, frustration has mounted for Syracuse junior guard Shannon Perry.

She scored six points last night. After throwing the ball out of bounds on a key second-half possession, Perry lost her composure.

‘I was (frustrated),’ Perry said. ‘I had to let it go.’

Perry did, ripping her mouth guard out and whipping it at the Syracuse bench with 12 minutes left in the game.

Perry’s frustration came to a head after several subpar games. She accumulated 11 double-doubles in her first 18 contests but has yet to reach those figures in her last four games.

Still, she contributed 10 rebounds for Syracuse last night.

‘My offensive game wasn’t there today,’ Perry said. ‘But I had to pick up my defense. It was great. I like to bang.’

Where the Hart is

Not surprisingly, playing Connecticut — which has now won 62 straight — was not enjoyable for the Orangewomen.

But playing at the Hartford Civic Center was.

‘Someone asked me a question the other day: What’s my favorite place to play other than Manley (Field House)?’ McBride said. ‘There’s no doubt in my mind that this is my second favorite. The fans are great here. Coming and playing in front of 16,000 fans, it’s just a great experience. Connecticut is a basketball state.’

While McBride enjoyed the 16,294 fans, Perry enjoyed antagonizing them.

‘I love when people are up against us,’ Perry said. ‘That motivates us. Coming into the game, everyone was pumped up. In the second half, we came out, and the crowd was up against us. But we made a couple shots and quieted them down. That was great.’

This and that

This was UConn’s sixth game at the Hartord Civic Center this year. The last time the Huskies played there, on Jan. 18, they defeated Georgetown. That marked consecutive win No. 55, giving UConn the NCAA record. … The largest cheer from the capacity crowd came after the night’s sweetest play. On a fast break, four UConn players touched the ball without a single dribble. The passing exhibition culminated with an Ann Strother layup. … With 18 minutes remaining, UConn’s Ashley Battle’s shoe got stuck in the rotating advertisements on the scorer’s table. Battle wiggled out of the sneaker but couldn’t retrieve her Nike until McBride came to her assistance, ripping the shoe out of the jam.

Published on February 12, 2003 at 12:00 pm