No. 14 Orange Win ACC Opener at Clemson

Thursday, January 3

Clemson, SC

7:00 PM

Syracuse University

12-2, 1-0ACC

Clemson

9-5, 0-1ACC

Syracuse

Clemson

1/3/2019 10:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Clemson, S.C. – The 14th-ranked Orange women opened Atlantic Coast Conference play with an 84-75 win at Clemson (9-5) on Thursday night. It marked the sixth-straight win for Syracuse, which improves to 12-2 on the season. Miranda Drummond led the Orange with 23 points, while Gabrielle Cooper added 22 and put on a three-point clinic knocking down seven treys on 12 attempts.

Cooper began the game with back-to-back threes to give Syracuse a jolt out of the gate. Clemson's Danielle Edwards scored the first eight points of the game for the Tigers making it 8-8 just two and a half minutes into the game. Clemson held its largest lead of the game, 12-8, with 6:42 to go in the first quarter, but Drummond's first trey of the game made it a one-point contest with 5:37 on the clock. The Orange took the lead shortly after and led 20-16 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, Syracuse held Clemson to its lowest offensive frame of the game, allowing just 13 points. The Orange extended their lead to eight, 28-20, with a layup from Kiara Lewis with 6:56 to play in the first half. Cooper closed out the second quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to give Syracuse a 12-point lead, 41-29, at halftime.

Tiana Mangakahia dished a game-high five assists through the first 20 minutes and then looked to the basket herself in the third quarter, scoring eight points, including a pair of buckets from behind the arc. The Tigers outscored Syracuse 26-21 in the third quarter despite the Orange shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range. The Tigers chipped away at a 19-point deficit to cut Syracuse's lead to nine, 64-55, at the end of the quarter.

Digna Strautmane began the fourth quarter with a jumper making it 66-55, Syracuse, but the Tigers would not back down. A three-point play by Edwards cut Syracuse's lead to four, 69-65 with 5:21 left in the game. After Clemson's Simone Westbrook hit a layup to make the scoer 71-68 with 4:15 remaining, Mangakahia and Cooper hit back-to-back threes to extend Syracuse's lead to nine, 77-68. A late three by Drummond sealed the 82-71 Orange victory

Cooper finished with 22 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Four Orange scored in double figures with Strautmane and Mangakahia adding 11 and 13 points apiece. Syracuse shot 39.1 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three-point range, knocking down 16 shots from behind the arc.

Edwards paced the Tigers and led all scorers with 24 points.

Syracuse (12-2, 1-0 ACC) heads to No. 25 Virginia Tech (13-1, 0-1 ACC) on Sunday for a 2 p.m. matinee against the Hokies. Fans can watch live on ACCN Extra.