Mangakahia Shines in ACC Opener
12/29/2017 3:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Despite the Orange's tough loss to No. 2 Notre Dame on Thursday, sophomore guard Tiana Mangakahia shined in her first ACC game, finishing the night with 26 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals. She is the first Orange player to lead the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals in a game since Tracy Harbut did so on Jan. 3, 2006 against Louisville.
The Australia native has scored in double-digits in 13 consecutive games, and has eclipsed the 20-point mark four times this season, including Thursday's 26-point effort at Notre Dame. She is the only Orange averaging a double-double this season, posting 16.7 points and 10.6 assists per game this year.
Mangakahia found her rhythm from beyond the arc, pouring in a career-best four 3-pointers against the Fighting Irish. The sophomore shot .476 (10-of-21) from the field and .571 from the 3-point arc.
"It was [Mangakahia's] first ACC game and she was playing against the best," said head coach Quentin Hillsman. "She competed for 39 minutes against one of the top three teams in the country. She's going to make mistakes but she's a tough kid and she really played hard and she did all she could to help us win this game."
Not only did Mangakahia spark the Orange offense against Notre Dame, but she also contributed on the defensive-side of the court, hauling in a career-high nine rebounds. Mangakahia accounted for two of Syracuse's six steals in the game and has tallied a steal in 12 of the Orange's 14 games this season.
Mangakahia and the Orange are back in action on Sunday when they take on Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game can be streamed on ACC Network Extra or heard on ESPN 97.7 and Cuse.TV.
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