CORAL GABLES, Fla. — With the onslaught in full swing, Marianna Freeman appeared nauseated.

Covering her eyes and shaking her head in disgust, Freeman watched her Syracuse women’s basketball team blow a 13-point halftime lead in seven minutes at Miami on Saturday night.

But the Hurricanes grew complacent, and the Orangewomen rallied. April Jean found point guard Julie McBride for a backdoor layup with 19.7 seconds left, and SU held on for a 62-59 win at the Convocation Center.

‘This team wasn’t going to be denied,’ Freeman said.

On Syracuse’s backdoor cut play — called “O.J.” — McBride came off a screen and snuck behind the Hurricane defense. McBride said she was surprised to be so wide open, since SU beat Miami with the play earlier in the game.

‘We knew the play,’ a despondent Miami head coach Ferne Labati said. ‘We just didn’t play it right.’

The Orangewomen (7-11, 2-5 Big East) built a 34-21 halftime lead, set up by an 11-2 run to start the game. SU’s lead grew to 17 with 6:49 left in the first half. The Hurricanes (12-5, 4-2) shot just 28 percent in the first 20 minutes.

‘We came out flat,’ Miami forward Tamara James said. ‘We waited too late to come out of the hole.’

But when the Hurricanes finally did, they surged.

In the second half, Miami went to a press defense, forcing steals on SU’s inbound passes. Syracuse committed only six turnovers in the first half but 13 in the second.

James, who scored just six first-half points, found more seams in the second half and finished with 18. With 13:10 left in the game, Miami’s 17-4 run knotted the score at 38-38, and a frustrated Freeman called timeout.

Forward Tierra Jackson, a freshman, spoke up.

‘I basically pulled us together and said we needed to regroup, which we did because we kind of looked dead out there,’ Jackson said.

Though Miami’s lead grew as large as nine, with 4:40 left, the Hurricanes let Syracuse back in the game. The Orangewomen went on a 7-0 run during the next 2 minutes, 15 seconds.

‘As a team, I think we thought we had the game when we went up,’ Miami guard Yalonda McCormick said. ‘Everybody relaxed. We didn’t play hard the last two minutes.’

Not wanting to foul, the Hurricanes abandoned their full-court press with six minutes left. Though the conservative move freed up more opportunities for the Orangewomen, Miami still had a chance after McBride’s backdoor layup.

With 15.5 seconds left, Labati called timeout and drew up a play for either James or McCormick to take the last shot. But after the inbounds pass, the ball went to freshman Tatjana Marincic, who missed a 3-pointer from the left corner.

‘She’s a freshman. She was open. She took the shot. She’s made it before,’ Labati said. ‘It’s kind of tough in a critical situation, but you hate to be in that situation to begin with.’

McBride hit two free throws to put SU up, 62-59, and tipped a James 3-pointer at the buzzer to seal the win.

With nine games left — including matchups with the Big East’s top three teams, Boston College, Villanova and Connecticut — the Orangewomen can’t afford another game like their 48-44 loss to Seton Hall last Tuesday.

‘The nine games will tell our season,’ McBride said. ‘When we have that sense of urgency that we’re going to win every game, then we’re going to win every game.’

Published on January 26, 2003 at 12:00 pm