Syracuse University
Virginia
Orange Close Out Road Trip at Virginia
12/30/2017 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
rv/23 Syracuse (12-2, 0-1) vs. Virginia (8-6, 1-0)
Game Details: Sunday, Dec. 31 | 2:00 p.m.
Location: John Paul Jones Arena  | Charlottesville, Va.
Game Coverage: Watch | Live Stats | Audio | @CuseWBB Twitter
Game Notes: Syracuse | Virginia
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Orange close out a five-game road stand in Charlottesville, Va. when they take on ACC foe Virginia on Dec. 31 for the last game of 2017. Tipoff between Syracuse and Virginia is set for 2:00 p.m. The game will air on ACC Network Extra and can be heard on Syracuse IMG Sports Radio Network with Brian Higgins ('04) on the call.
Syracuse is 12-2 (0-1 in conference play) heading into Sunday's match-up with Virginia. The Orange's only two losses this season have come against a pair of top 5 teams in the country, No. 5/3 Mississippi State and No. 2 Notre Dame. Sophomore Tiana Mangakahia paces the Orange, averaging a double-double (16.7 points, 10.6 assists) per game this year. Junior Miranda Drummond (17.1) and sophomore Gabrielle Cooper (11.3) are also averaging double-figure outings this season, while freshman Digna Strautmane leads the Orange in rebounding with an average of 8.0 per game.
While Virginia was tested early in the season, posting an 7-6 record in non-conference play, the Cavaliers notched their first ACC victory of the season against Pittsburgh 62-50 on Thursday. The Cavaliers are a threat from 3-point range, ranking third in the ACC in 3-point shooting efficiency, knocking down just over 37 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. Senior J'Kyra Brown paces the Cavaliers with 27 made 3-pointers while sophomore Dominique Toussaint leads Virginia in scoring, averaging 11.9 points per game.
SERIES HISTORY
This is just the ninth meeting between the Orange and the Cavaliers with Syracuse holding the 5-3 advantage. Syracuse is on a five-game win streak over Virginia, most recently besting the Cavaliers 54-49 in the Carrier Dome just over a year ago.
In those five meetings, the Orange have outscored Virginia 373-312 and have held the Cavaliers to under 60 points three times. While under the direction of Coach Hillsman, the Orange are 5-0 against Virginia, however, the Cavaliers hold the 2-1 edge in games played at John Paul Jones Arena.
OPPONENT CONNECTIONS
Current Syracuse assistant coach Tammi Reiss is very familiar with Virginia as she was a four-year starter for the Cavaliers from 1988-92. She led Virginia to three ACC regular season titles, two ACC tournament championships and three Final Four appearances.
Reiss earned all-conference honors three times during her time at Virginia and received All-America honors in her senior season (1992).
THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER
The only Orange averaging a double-double this season (16.7 points, 10.6 assists), sophomore Tiana Mangakahia has already made a name for herself in the NCAA women's basketball community. Mangakahia paces the nation and the ACC in assists per game (10.6) and total assists (148) and ranks 23rd in the country (first in the ACC) in free throws made (61).
Against Notre Dame, Mangakahia posted 26 points, a career-best nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals, becoming the first player to paced the Orange in all four categories in a game since Tracy Harbut did so on Jan. 3, 2006 against Louisville.
Mangakahia posted 10+ assists in eight consecutive games to open the season, the only NCAA Division I basketball athlete to accomplish that feat this year . She tied Tine Freil of Pacific for the most consecutive double-figure assist games in NCAA Division I history as Freil posted eight straight games during the 1989-90 season.
UP NEXT
The Orange return to the Carrier Dome for the first time since Dec. 9 in the ACC home opener against Georgia Tech on Jan. 4. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will air on ACC Network Extra and can be heard on Syracuse IMG Radio Network or Cuse.TV.
For the latest news on the Syracuse women's basketball program, follow /SyracuseWBB on Facebook, @CuseWBB on Instagram, and @CuseWBB on Twitter.
