Syracuse women’s basketball’s Mangakahia, Drummond win ACC weekly awards

The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team earned two big conference wins over unranked Georgia Tech and No. 11/12 Florida State this week, and two Orange players earned awards for their performances in those games.

‘Cuse point guard Tiana Mangakahia has been at or near the top of the assist leaderboard for the entire season. Her play has elevated the Orange and she has continued as a threat, not only with her passing, but with her scoring.

The shifty Australian earned her second ACC Player of the Week award (the other was Nov. 27) after coming one point shy of Alexis Peterson’s Carrier Dome record of 45 points. Mangakahia posted 44 points versus Georgia Tech and broke a Syracuse program record for free throws made in that same contest. Tiana knocked down 20-of-21 free throws versus Tech, shattering the previous program record of 15 free throws made in a single game.

Mangakahia also had an all-around solid game versus Florida State. She tallied 13 assists, grabbed six rebounds, and added four steals to the Orange effort in its upset over the ‘Noles.

Perhaps the Orange’s most consistent scorer, forward Miranda Drummond came up large for Syracuse versus Florida State. Drummond’s 38 points, 14 field goals made, and eight three-pointers made set new career highs.

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Drummond’s performance versus the Seminoles helped her earn College Sports Madness’s National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week honors. These accolades are her first of each kind this season.

Miranda is now averaging 17.5 points per game this season. Her shooting from beyond the arc has been very noteworthy to date. She now ranks No. 19 in the nation in three-pointers made, and she is third in the ACC in that same category.

Congratulations to both Tiana and Miranda!

Follow the Author

Corey Crisan is the Orange Women’s Basketball reporter for TNIAAM. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @cdcrisan for coverage all season long.