Erica Morrow stepped onto the court in Manley Field House last summer as the first McDonald’s All-American in the history of the Syracuse women’s basketball program. Entering the preseason, she thought the success from her high school playing days would easily transition to her current playing career in college right away.

Think again.

‘I thought college was going to be kind of easy, not easy, but not as hard as it was,’ Morrow said. ‘In high school I could play 32 minutes, we have four, eight-minute quarters, and I could go out and party afterward. Now it’s like I play five minutes, and I’m like coach I might need (a break).’

Morrow and her teammates won’t get much of a rest when they play Providence tonight at 7 p.m. No. 22 Syracuse (19-5, 7-4) travels to Rhode Island’s capital only two days after an extremely physical game it lost to No. 14 Notre Dame.

In order to get back to its winning ways, the Orange will try to put the ball in the hands of Morrow, who seems to be getting back to playing the way she did in high school.

In the first 18 games of the season, Morrow averaged 11.2 points per game. Since tallying a season-low five points against Villanova on Jan. 19, she is averaging 17.2 points per game in the last six contests. In the last half dozen games, Morrow has scored a career-high 24 points against Marquette and followed it up with a 23-point effort against Seton Hall.

‘She really stepped it up in Big East play, man,’ senior Fantasia Goodwin said. ‘I feel that she’s the reason why we are where we are at.’

Head coach Quentin Hillsman was expecting a lot from his young point guard this year, but knew it would take some time. Morrow may have dismissed the transition, but Hillsman knows there is no high school in the nation similar to Big East play.

‘I think it’s just her getting used to playing,’ Hillsman said. ‘You know getting on the floor for extended minutes and getting into the flow of these games. You can’t really simulate how the Big East is going to be.’

Morrow has received the playing time Hillsman thought she would need in order to produce in arguably the toughest conference in women’s college basketball. The freshman guard leads the team in minutes, averaging 32.2 per game. But just like she has seen her points spike recently, Morrow has also found herself on the court more.

The first two-thirds of the season, Morrow was playing about 30 minutes a game. The last six games that number has jumped to more than 37 minutes per contest. Goodwin knew Morrow had talent coming in and would play a lot. She tried warning Morrow about the transition, but freshman never seem to listen.

‘Before she got here they were like, ‘Ahhhh, it’s gonna be nothin’,’ Goodwin said. ‘I’m like, ‘I’m telling ya! Y’all better get in shape!’

Morrow may not have listened at first, but eventually had to as the minutes kept piling up. After the initial shock of how difficult the college game was though, the increased minutes are actually what have made her more comfortable.

‘I’ve had a different role in these last few games,’ Morrow said. ‘My role just changed, and I think feeling comfortable came when I knew I had to score and my teammates would get me the ball in good positions.’

Morrow is a dynamic enough guard to be able to distribute the ball when needed and score if the situation calls for it. She has needed to recently because leading scorer Chandrea Jones has struggled. Morrow said for the time being she is happy to pick up the slack but knows her teammate’s scoring will probably return.

Meanwhile, Morrow continues to impress.

‘I think she’s one of the most consistent players on the team,’ Goodwin said. ‘I mean Erica is an amazing player man, she’s real gifted. She’s going to make a lot of money some day.’

mibonner@syr.edu

Published on February 18, 2008 at 12:00 pm