Syracuse women’s basketball beats Miami, 92-85

A three-point barrage and a record-setting day by Tiana Mangakahia led the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball to a 92-85 victory over the Miami Hurricanes in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. The Orange advanced to the semifinals where they will face No. 1 seed Notre Dame.

Syracuse came out and set the tone in first half. Similar to its last game versus Virginia, SU got contributions from a number of players. Three players scored in double-digits in the first half for the Orange.

Mangakahia led the way with 12 points and eight assists in the first half. Digna Strautmane scored 11 points and Kiara Lewis added 10 of her own. SU finished 9-of-19 from behind-the-arc in the first half, which helped them extend the lead in the second quarter.

Beatrice Mompremier led the way for Miami with 16 points and Emese Hof scored 12. They combined for 28 of Miami’s 37 first half points. Syracuse was able to force Miami into 12 turnovers in the first half, while on committing two turnovers of their own. The Orange took a 50-37 lead into halftime.

Mangakahia and Strautmane continued their strong performance in second half. They both scored 13 points to lead the way for Syracuse. Miami outscored Syracuse 25-17 in the third quarter and went into the fourth quarter only trailing 67-62.

The Hurricanes took a 68-67 with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter. That lead lasted less than a minute and Miami would never lead again. Syracuse outscored the Hurricanes 25-23 in the fourth quarter. Despite being outscored 48-42 in the second half, the Orange were able to maintain their fast half lead and beat Miami by seven.

Mangakahia and Strautmane continued their strong performance in second half. They both scored 13 points to lead the way for Syracuse. She did most of her work from the inside and at the free throw line. She shot 4-of-9 from the field and the second half, only one of those attempts coming from three-point range.

SU finished 11-of-17 from the free throw line in the second half. Mangakahia was 5-of-6 from free throw line in final 20 minutes

Mompremier finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, and was an efficient 11-of-16 from the field. Hof was also on target in Friday’s game. She was 10-of-15 from the field and finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks, in 37 minutes.

Syracuse had a balanced attack and spread the ball around. Mangakahia scored 25 points and her 13 assists set an ACC tournament record. Miranda Drummond was second on the team with 19 points, and Strautmane and Gabrielle Cooper both scored 15. Kiara Lewis was the fifth player in double-digits, with 10 points.

SU’s 14 three-pointers were also an ACC tournament record. Cooper, Drummond, and Strautmane combined for 12 of the teams 14 made threes. Syracuse also had a good performance at the free throw line finishing 16-of-22 from the line.

The Orange will faced #1 seed Notre Dame in the seminfinals on Saturday at noon. The game can be seen on ESPNU or WatchESPN. SU is looking to bounce back from a 30-point loss at the hands of the Irish last month.