Orange Upset No. 17/16 Duke at Home

Thursday, February 15

Syracuse, N.Y.

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

(19-7) (7-6)

Duke

(20-7) (9-5)

Duke

Syracuse

Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski

2/15/2018 9:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Cuse TV: Highlights Photo Gallery Cuse TV: Hillsman Postgame Cuse TV: Players Postgame

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse University women's basketball team upset No. 17/16 Duke at home, 68-65, to earn its second win over a top-25 opponent inside the Carrier Dome this season. The Orange improve to 19-7 and 7-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while the Blue Devils move to 20-7 and 9-5 in the league. Duke's Lexie Brown led all scorers with 20 points while 'Cuse's Tiana Mangakahia had a team-best 19 points, 11 assists and four steals for her 13th double-double of the season.

HOW IT WAS DECIDED
The Orange and Blue Devils' brought their defensive A-game in the first quarter, combining for 11 forced turnovers. The scoring picked up at the five-minute mark with 3-pointers by Mangakahia and Duke's Brown. The teams traded leads throughout the quarter, ending the first 10 minutes tied at 20 after Digna Strautmane tied the game with a 3-pointer with 48 seconds on the clock.

The intensity on offense ignited in the second quarter with back-to-back treys by Mangakahia. Another long ball from Isis Young at 3:51 began Syracuse's offensive takeover. With a pair of 3-pointers by Miranda Drummond and Young, the Orange led the Blue Devil's 41-36 with 11 seconds to go. Amaya Finklea-Guity ended the half with a buzzer beater in the paint, giving Syracuse the biggest lead of the game, 43-36.

The Orange defense came out aggressive as ever in the second half, ending Duke's first possession with a shot clock violation. The Blue Devils were not going down without a fight, keeping the game within a basket with a set of shots from Rebecca Greenwell and Brown. The Orange answered back when Drummond knocked down two 3-pointers. At 2:20, a set of lay-ups by Leaonna Odam gave the Blue Devils' their first lead since the five-minute mark of the second quarter. A last-second lay-up by Young tied the game at 52 heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter started with back-to-back layups by Young and Duke's Erin Mathias. At 8:19, the Blue Devil's went on a 7-0 run, giving them the lead of 63-54. The Orange weren't ready to give up, as Drummond hit yet another three moving her into double-digits. At 4:20, Mangakahia hit back-to-back layups, pulling the game within two. A Strautmane rebound led to a Fox basket, tying the game at 65-all with two minutes to go. Mangakahia drained the eventual game-winning 3-pointer with under a minute to play as Duke was unable to convert on its final possession.

OF NOTE
Young's 16 points mark a career-high for the transfer. She shot 50 percent from the field going 4-for-8 from behind the arc.

Mangakahia had her 13th double-double of the season with a team-best 19 points and 11 assists. She added five rebounds and four steals in 38 minutes of action and scored the game-winning basket.

Syracuse is now 5-2 in its last seven games against nationally-ranked opponents inside the Carrier Dome. 'Cuse upset No. 11/12 Florida State earlier this season on Jan. 7.

TWEET OF THE GAME
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What. A. Win. pic.twitter.com/7SdNPTCc4T
— 'Cuse Women's Hoops (@CuseWBB) February 16, 2018

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Q's THOUGHTS
"It's just about finishing," head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "And our players really finished the game tonight. I've got to give Duke a lot of credit in the third quarter. They were competitive and played really well. On a day when you hold a team like Duke to 16 points and 13 points in quarters, you are defensively doing a really good job. I thought out players competed at a tremendously high level tonight. We have every opportunity to lay down in this game."

UP NEXT
Syracuse heads to Pittsburgh for a rare Monday Night matchup in ACC play. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.