With 20 seconds left in the second half of the Syracuse women’s basketball game against Rutgers last night, freshman Jessica Richter received the ball at the sideline near the Syracuse bench. A look of confidence came across her face.

Richter squared up, looked at the basket and let a long 3-point shot fly. As the ball floated toward the net, it seemed Richter would once again come through for the Orange when it needed her the most.

Instead, the ball fell several feet short of the rim.

That was one of the few misses for Richter. In the second game against Rutgers this season, Richter was again the best player for Syracuse, though the Orange lost, 64-54. Richter had a career-high 21 points, 14 of which came in the first half.

‘What I like about Jess is she plays big in the big games,’ said Syracuse head coach Keith Cieplicki. ‘She’s very competitive. We just let her play and she does great things. She just brings such great energy.’

And her energy was evident throughout the game. Even when she didn’t have the ball, Richter was part of the play. As SU’s offensive set developed, Richter would slide behind the Rutgers defense. When it seemed the No. 10 Scarlet Knights (19-5, 10-2 Big East) forgot about her, Richter would put her hands up to signal for the ball, and slice through RU’s man-to-man defense for easy lay-ups.

Even when Rutgers defended Richter, it didn’t seem to make a difference.

With 9:25 left in the second half, after Richter missed a heavily-defended 3-pointer, she crashed the boards, got her own rebound and dished it out to guard Rochelle Coleman who was wide-open. Coleman drove to the basket and got fouled, leading to a one-and-one opportunity.

‘She’s very confident,’ Rutgers guard Cappie Pondexter said. ‘I actually like her. She’s going to be a great player in the Big East and nationally.’

Pondexter, a National Player of the Year candidate, was the only player in the game to outscore Richter. She had 25 points.

Richter’s 21-point game comes after she scored 17 against Rutgers on Feb. 6. SU (11-13, 3-10) lost that game, 69-61.

Despite having a career game, Richter didn’t want any consolations. No matter how well she played, her team still lost. To her, her performance meant ‘not much.’

And while the Syracuse post game looks to be fading as the season progresses (Chineze Nwagbo and Vaida Sipaviciute combined for 10 points), Richter only seems to improve. She entered last night’s game averaging 13.2 points against Big East opponents. She only scored in double figures twice against weaker non-conference foes. She’s scored more than 10 points in each of the last five games.

‘She loves the game,’ Cieplicki said. ‘You’re always looking for players that love playing. She expects to win. We knew we were fortunate to get her.’

Published on February 16, 2005 at 12:00 pm