Orange Edged by Wolfpack, 60-56

Sunday, January 14

Raleigh, N.C.

2:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

14-4, 2-3

NC State

14-5, 3-3

Syracuse

NC State

Photo by: Tim Cowie

1/14/2018 8:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Raleigh, N.C. – Syracuse University's women's basketball team was edged by NC State, 60-56, inside Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. The Orange were led by Tiana Mangakahia who had a game-high 16 points while Gabrielle Cooper tallied 11 points and made a team-best three 3-pointers. 'Cuse moves to 14-4 overall and 2-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while the Wolfpack improves to 14-5 and 3-3 in the league.

HOW IT WAS DECIDED
NC State jumped out to an early 7-0 lead but Miranda Drummond put the Orange on the board with a 3-pointer to make it 7-3 with 7:17 to play in the first quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Cooper and Isis Young gave 'Cuse its first lead of the game, 10-8, at the 5:23 mark. NC State regained the lead minutes later and pulled ahead by five, 22-17, at the end of the period.

After a 6-2 run for the Pack to start the second, 'Cuse found itself in a nine-point deficit with 8:23 to play in the first half. A triple by Drummond cut it to a two-possession game at 7:02 and the Orange finished the half on a 16-4 run to lead 33-32 at the break.

A low-scoring third quarter saw NC take back the lead by the end of the frame after outscoring the Orange 11-7 in the 10-minute stanza. Syracuse shot 16.7 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from behind the arc in the quarter.

NC State's Armani Hawkins made a jumper to open the final quarter and give the Pack a 45-40 lead. A layup by Amaya Finklea-Guity followed by a trey from Cooper saw the Orange tie the game at 45-all with 6:15 to play. The Wolfpack went on an 8-0 run to lead 55-47 with 2:16 left but 'Cuse continued to battle bringing the score to two, 57-55, with 49 seconds left in regulation after a pair of free throws by Mangakahia. NC State held off the Orange down the stretch connecting on 4-of-5 free throws in the final 16 seconds to win by four.

OF NOTE
The loss snapped a four-game win streak for the Orange against NC State and the Wolfpack takes a 5-4 lead in the all-time series.
Mangakahia led the Orange in scoring for the seventh time this season. The Australia native has also led the team in assists in all 18 games this year.

TWEET OF THE GAME

Cooper sinks a 3-pointer from the corner off Tiana's inbound. We are all tied 45-45 with 6:12 left in regulation. pic.twitter.com/1RlAPsl6oF
— 'Cuse Women's Hoops (@CuseWBB) January 14, 2018

Q'S THOUGHTS
"We have to develop [will and toughness]," said head coach Quentin Hillsman. "We have two freshmen out there battling, trying to take care of the glass for us. They were in foul trouble in the first half and in the second half they played a little better, in the third quarter, but then they started fouling again. You can't foul and give up offensive rebounds, that's your doom. We've got to give them a lot of credit [NC State], they came out today and played very physical and a very tough game. We just didn't match their toughness."

UP NEXT
The Orange remain on the road to face Miami on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Watsco Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. and the game can be watched live on RSN.

For the latest news on the Syracuse women's basketball program, follow /SyracuseWBB on Facebook, @CuseWBB on Instagram, and @CuseWBB on Twitter.