The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team (19-6, 8-4) defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-15, 1-11), 77-57 on Sunday. SU was led by 17 points from Miranda Drummond, and 15 points and 9 assists from Tiana Mangakahia on Senior Day.
Syracuse pulled away from Wake in the fourth quarter after the Demon Deacons kept it close for the first three quarters.
The Orange had their best scoring quarter of the game, scoring 24 points in fourth and held Wake to game-low 11 points in the final 10 minutes.
Drummond was once again hot from three-point range. She scored 15 of her 17 points from deep, going 5-of-9 from behind the the three-point line. She got things started for the SU offense, as she hit three of her first four attempts from beyond-the-arc in the first quarter.
“It always good to make shots,” said Drummond. “If feel like when I make shots or someone else makes a three it helps the team, it helps our momentum.
Mangakahia started the game as a distributor as she finished the first half with five points and seven assists. In the second half, she began to look for her own shot, scoring 10 of her 15 points after the break.
It was fitting that two of the seniors recognized on Senior Day led Syracuse to victory. Mangakahia still has a year of eligibility left, and when asked, she said she has yet to decide on her future.
“I’m not sure yet,” said Mangakahia. I’m just on the season and trying to get to a national championship game and I’ll decide.”
SU’s inability to keep Wake Forest off the offensive boards hurt the Orange and kept the Demon Deacons in the game. Wake finished with 18 offensive rebounds and that isn’t acceptable fo the Syracuse defense.
“Size always matters down there in the post when the ball hits off the glass, but it doesn’t matter if you get a body on them, said head coach Quentin Hillsman. “We just wasn’t getting a body on them. They got 18 offensive rebounds, they had 12 in the first half, so obviously we did better in the second half of boxing them out. But, 12 is way too many in a half.”
Syracuse got off to an early start from three as the team shot 5-of-7 from three point in the first quarter.
The SU defense was outstanding in the first 10 minutes, as the Orange held the Demon Deacons to 5-of-20 from the field and 2-of-8 from beyond-the-arc.
Wake started the second quarter on a nice run and tied the game at 23. The Demon Deacons were outscoring Syracuse for a majority of the second quarter, before the Orange made a few stops on defense and turned it into offense on the other end. Syracuse outscored Wake 20-18 in the second quarter and took a 39-30 lead into halftime.
SU was 14-of-36 from the field, shooting 38.9 percent and the team was even better from three-point range, finishing 9-of-20 for 45%.
Things changed for SU to begin the second half. The Syracuse offense couldn’t find the mark in the third quarter. SU was 5-of-18 from the field and 2-of-9 from three-point range.
The Orange only led by seven entering the fourth quarter and Wake Forest was dominating the matchup in the paint. The Demon Deacons had 28 points in the paint and Syracuse only had 14.
SU came out much more aggressive on both sides of the ball in the fourth. The Orange outscored Wake 14-4 when it came to points in the paint and shot 69% from the field in the final quarter.
Visual Recap — from today’s Senior Day win pic.twitter.com/30nJyfgzAN
— 'Cuse Women's Hoops (@CuseWBB) February 17, 2019
The defense also came to play in the fourth. SU had three blocks and held Wake to 4-of-13 from the field. A block by Emily Engstler with 8:47 left in the game drew some “oohs and ahhhs” from the crowd. That was one of four blocks for the freshman from New York City.
Syracuse will need to continue the to play with the type of defensive intensity it played with in the fourth quarter with games versus #6 Notre Dame and #21 Florida State remaining on the schedule.
The Orange play hosts Pitt in the Dome Thursday before the Fighting Irish come into town. Coach Q says the Panthers are not an easy opponent and he will make sure it isn’t a trap game for the team.
“We can’t look ahead at all,” said Hillsman. They just beat Carolina. Carolina was a really tough game for us. So we’re not looking ahead. I don’t do that, it’s just not who I am. Everyone comes to play and you have to respect every opponent because this is a great conference,”
Syracuse hosts Pitt on Thursday, February 21 at 7 p.m. ET in the Carrier Dome. SU fans can watch on ACC Network Extra/WatchESPN or listen at Cuse.com.