Orange Stifle the Hurricanes in ACC Opener

Thursday, December 10

Coral Gables, FL

8 PM

Syracuse University

Miami

12/10/2020 11:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

The 20th-ranked Orange jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never relinquished it in a 69-58 win at Miami. Senior Tiana Mangakahia and freshman Kamilla Cardoso paced the Syracuse (4-0 overall, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) offense with 14 points each. Mangakahia also recorded seven assists, three steals and two rebounds, while Cardoso added eight rebounds, two steals and a block.

🎥: Highlights from tonight's win over Miami pic.twitter.com/re6C1o2Jse
— 'Cuse Hoops (@CuseWBB) December 11, 2020

Miami (3-1, 0-1) cut the lead to one a couple of times in the in the first quarter before the Orange took a 23-19 lead at the end of one quarter and a 42-34 advantage at halftime. Syracuse broke away in the final quarter, using a six-point run to take a 63-46 advantage to open the largest lead of the game. Mangakahia scored nine of her 14 points in the fourth quarter.

"The great thing about our team is we can bring in vets to close out games," said head coach Quentin Hillsman. "We have to continue to be unselfish and understand that we're winning these games and we're playing to win every single game. We're doing a good job of rotating players in and out, and have a really great blend right now."

The 'Milla and 'Cilla Show
Freshmen Kamilla Cardoso and Priscilla Williams earned their third career starts. The Cardoso scored eight of Syracuse's first 11 points, and had three rebounds and two steals, in the first three minutes of the game. Williams, who hit a three-point field goal to break a four-minute scoring drought for Syracuse in the first quarter, contributed eight points and two rebounds in the victory.

Digna from Deep
Forward Digna Strautmane connected on 3-of-6 three-point field goals in the first half for all of her nine points in the game. She also led the Orange with 11 rebounds and had two steals.

Make it rain @dignucis8 ☔️☔️☔️

📺ACC Network
💻https://t.co/91rwe8Mavr pic.twitter.com/UflvTlHQnx
— 'Cuse Hoops (@CuseWBB) December 11, 2020

Strong Defense
Syracuse forced 20 turnovers, resulting in 19 points. The ACC leader in steals per game, the Orange had nine against the Hurricanes. Mangakahia had a team-high three steals, while Cardoso, Kiara Lewis and Strautmane each had a pair.

Owning the Glass
The Orange outrebounded Miami 50-42, including 19 offensive rebounds which resulted in 18 second chance points. Cardoso and Emily Engstler each had seven in the first half. Engstler finished with nine boards, seven points, and two blocks. Strautmane recorded her second double-digit rebounding performance of the season with 11.

Of Note:

The victory is the first for the Orange in the Watsco Center since February 2016 when Syracuse beat Miami 57-51.
Syracuse is off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2017-18. That year the Orange opened the season with 11 victories in a row.
Lewis contributed seven points, six assists, six rebounds and two steals in the victory.
Tonight was the 100th career game for seniors Amaya Finklea-Guity and Strautmane.

The Orange return to Syracuse to host Binghamton on Sunday, Dec. 13th at 6 pm (ACC Network).

Syracuse University Athletics remains committed to doing everything it can to support and protect the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes, our staff and the campus and Syracuse communities. All decisions will be science-based and informed by public health and guidance as provided by county, state and public health officials.

If fans are permitted to attend games – in some capacity – Syracuse Athletics will announce plans for spectators to secure admission to the events. Fans will be required to sit in their socially-distanced seat locations and wear a face covering.