Performance Behind the Arc Extends Undefeated Start for Orange

Performance Behind the Arc Extends Undefeated Start for Orange

By Erin Fish

Photos by Peter Benson

Monday, November 20, 2017

SYRACUSE, N.Y.– The Orange won their third straight game on Monday morning at the Carrier Dome as they defeated the Hartford Hawks 75-63. The win puts Syracuse at 3-0 on the season and will set Hartford back to 1-3.

Two players put up double-doubles on the stat sheet for the Orange. Redshirt junior Miranda Drummond recorded her first of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Tiana Mangakahia recorded her second consecutive double-double this season with 17 points and 10 assists. This also marks the third consecutive game Mangakahia has tallied 10 assists.

Syracuse point guard Tiana Mangakahia dribbles the ball up the court. Photo by Peter Benson.

It looked like it was going to be a day for the 3-ball for both teams. Sophomore Gabrielle Cooper made back-to-back 3-point shots to open up the game for the Orange. The 3-point daggers and a layup by Drummond initiated an 8-0 start in the Carrier Dome on ‘School Day’ in front of a crowd of thousands of screaming young school children.

Junior Lindsey Abed put up the first points of the game for the Hawks with a 3-pointer. Less than a minute later, Hartford junior Kelly Douglass drained another 3-pointer to pull the Hawks within reach. The Orange responded with a three at the other end of the floor putting them up 13-6 with 6:00 remaining in the quarter. Junior Alexia Douglas of Hartford answered with two consecutive threes to pull the Hawks within one at the 4:15 mark. From there, a fast break Syracuse offense would outmatch the Hawks. They finished out the quarter with an 11-2 run with a score of 24-14 entering the second quarter.

Gabrielle Cooper shooting from the 3-point arc. Photo by Peter Benson.

The Hawks opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer made by senior Janelle Harrison. Cooper continued to lead the Orange in scoring with two consecutive 3-point baskets followed shortly after with another three-pointer by her freshman teammate, Digna Strautmane. The two teams then went back and forth putting numbers on the board, but the Orange ended the half with a 42-32 lead.

Syracuse began to take a heavy lead when redshirt junior Isis Young hit two 3-pointers three minutes into the third quarter. Young and Drummond combined for 14 of the 19 points scored for ‘Cuse. The score was 61-48 in favor of the Orange heading into the final quarter.

Throughout the entirety of the fourth quarter, Syracuse maintained a nine-point lead against the Hawks. A huge part of that was due to their sophomore point guard, Tiana Mangakahia. In the fourth quarter alone, Mangakahia tallied 8 points and 3 assists.

Coach Quentin Hillsman was happy with the overall effort his team put in today.

"Hartford is a really tough team. They've had some games that they've lost the last couple of games but they've been in every game. They are a tough group of kids that work really hard," said Coach Hillsman. "I'm really proud of our team. We did a fantastic job in the second half of speeding up the game and trying to take away their 3-point shots." 

The Orange will travel to Washington D.C to play in the Paradise Jam from Nov. 23-25. On Thursday, Nov. 30, Syracuse will return to the Carrier Dome to host Northwestern as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.