HARTFORD, Conn. – In the second half of the Syracuse women’s basketball team’s game against Connecticut in the second round of the Big East tournament, SU guard Lauren Kohn drove hard into the lane and lost the ball as UConn defenders surrounded her.

From across the court, sophomore Tracy Harbut sprinted and dove for the ball. She recovered it, threw up a jumper while falling over, and as the basketball fell into the hoop, she drew contact from the Husky defender.

Harbut missed the ensuing foul shot, but the hustle exhibited on that play briefly energized an Orange team trailing by 31 at that point.

Throughout the game, SU looked to Harbut for aggressive and athletic play. Whether Syracuse needed a jumper, a rebound or just someone to inbound the ball, it called upon Harbut.

And although Syracuse ended up losing, 82-56, Harbut showed flashes that could make the future a bit brighter.

‘Tracy is a good example of what we’re trying to do here,’ said Syracuse head coach Keith Cieplicki. ‘We’re trying to play defense, be more aggressive. Tracy’s gonna play a big role in our future. Tracy’s a big building block.’

And after not starting a game since Dec. 30 against Cornell, Harbut provided a spark in the starting lineup in both Big East tournament games.

While UConn (21-7) focused on rotating defenders over to cut off the paint, the only player able to slash through the defense was Harbut. SU (13-16) fed the ball inside constantly, but when no good looks at the basket opened up, the post dished out to Harbut and let her explode inside.

Harbut finished with a career-high 13 points. Her previous high was 11 against Rutgers on Feb. 16.

‘I felt that I had an advantage being a smaller, quicker player,’ Harbut said. ‘I wanted to use what I have – my dribbling skills – and try to attack the basket.’

When Connecticut came out in the first half with full-court pressure, Harbut had to use her dribbling skills to bring the ball up-court. The Huskies tried to clamp down on Syracuse senior Rochelle Coleman, opening up lanes for Harbut to move the ball past half court and set up the offense.

Cieplicki pulled Harbut out of the lineup with 3:38 left in the first half, and the Syracuse offense immediately went stagnant. The Orange resorted to throwing up heavily-guarded jumpers and outside shots. Without a penetrating guard on the floor, Connecticut could predict SU’s every move on offense. The Huskies closed the first half with a 7-2 run, leading 45-27.

‘They were just doing stuff – running up and down the court,’ said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. ‘That’s fine with me. I’m sure Keith told them, ‘Hey, let’s run some offense.”

And Cieplicki seemed to realize Harbut’s importance to the Orange. She led all players with 35 minutes played. It was also the most minutes Harbut played this season beside her 36 minutes Saturday night against Georgetown.

Harbut’s contributions weren’t limited to just points, though. She also added four rebounds and five assists. Both totals were above her season average.

‘She is just taking off here,’ Cieplicki said. ‘Her athleticism is deceptive. She’s more explosive than she looks.’

Published on March 6, 2005 at 12:00 pm