No. 17 Orange Tripped Up by No. 4 Notre Dame

Monday, February 25

Syracuse, N.Y.

6 PM

Syracuse University

20-7, 8-5

Notre Dame

26-3, 13-2

Notre Dame

Syracuse

2/25/2019 8:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery Highlights Press Conference | Coach Hillsman Press Conference | Players

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A Big Monday clash against No. 4 Notre Dame provided the No. 17th-ranked Orange with an opportunity to knock off one of the country's top teams inside of a packed Carrier Dome.

Syracuse could not keep pace with the Irish, however, and was tripped up by its Atlantic Coast Conference foe, 98-68, in front of 7,568 fans, this season's largest crowd. The Orange move to 20-7 overall and 9-5 in ACC play with the loss.

"Obviously, I was very disappointed in the outcome," head coach Quentin Hillsman said. "This is a game where we had a very good opportunity to come on our own floor and beat a very good team, and we didn't take advantage of the opportunity. That's very disappointing."

Syracuse and the Irish matched each other in the opening quarter, exchanging baskets over the first 10 minutes of play. Miranda Drummond provided a spark when she had the ball in her hands, scoring six points off of two three-pointers.

Syracuse led 18-17 with two minutes to go, but a 7-1 run to close out the quarter put Notre Dame ahead, 24-19, entering the first break.

That five-point deficit was a 19-point deficit 10 minutes later, as the Orange's offense went quiet in the second quarter. Syracuse struggled to match Notre Dame's size in the paint, with the Irish's Jessica Shepard and Brianna Turner scoring 10 and 11 first-half points, respectively, to lead the Irish to a 46-27 advantage by the intermission.

Arike Ogunbowale, meanwhile, was giving the Orange fits from behind the arc, connecting on four three-pointers in the game. Much of her damage was done in the third quarter, as she scored 10 of her team-high 24 points and helped Notre Dame extend its lead to as much as 30.

Syracuse would not back down that easily, though. A third-quarter run, sparked by Tiana Mangakahia's 11 points, cut the deficit to 22 entering the final break. The Orange would bring the deficit down to 20 points multiple times, but could never get closer.

"The rest of the quarters were fairly even," Hillsman said. "It wasn't that lopsided, but that second quarter was a really big blow to this game."

Mangakahia posted a team-high 17 points, seven assists and four steals. All 17 of her points came in the second half.

Drummond finished with 15 points, while Digna Strautmane scored 10 and had a team-high seven rebounds.

Syracuse's week is just getting started, as the Orange are in action twice more in the next six days. The Orange finish the regular season on the road, playing No. 22/20 Florida State at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28 before the finale versus Boston College at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 3.

To stay updated on the Orange, follow @CuseWBB on Twitter and Instagram.