Miranda Drummond struggled to find words to describe her connection with Syracuse point guard Tiana Mangakahia after SU’s 81-74 win on Nov. 30 against Northwestern. The duo utilized the backdoor cut, a play head coach Quentin Hillsman swore wasn’t in SU’s playbook, and other moves to put up 55 points, 13 assists, 14 rebounds, and seven steals.

After the game, Drummond chalked up the relationship to instinct. When asked about the origin of their on-court connection, Mangakahia and Drummond thought about their answers and then looked at each other. Mangakahia said it started in the summer. Drummond said it began the first time they played and snapped her fingers in affirmation.

“We read the defense,” Mangakahia said. “We make eye contact and I know she’ll catch it … She cuts everywhere.”

“I like to cut,” Miranda affirmed.

The Orange (10-0) have been led by Mangakahia and Drummond, two-first year players whose styles of play complement each other. The pair rank first and second in a number of statistical categories for Syracuse, including steals, points per game, and minutes played. Mangakahia leads the Orange with 113 assists, 45 of which have been to Drummond. SU’s star point guard has assisted 68 percent of Drummond’s field goals.

“(Drummond) is a smart player,” Hillsman said. “Tiana is a fantastic passer … I don’t want to mess it up. Whatever they are doing, let them keep doing that.”

Last year’s squad relied on two players that formed “America’s best backcourt,” Alexis Peterson and Brittney Sykes. That pairing scored 42.6 points per game and led the Orange to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Hillsman declared his team would need to be led by more than two players, but he didn’t foresee Mangakahia and Drummond’s fast start. The pair averages more than 35 points per game.

“When you had Lex,” Hillsman said on Nov. 7, “when you had Britt, you could give them the ball and say go get a bucket for us. Right now, we don’t have that player.”

Throughout the season, he’s admitted that Mangakahia has become SU’s go-to scorer with her ability to dribble past defenders. Hillsman said that Mangakahia is the reason the Orange was winning games after Hartford.

Drummond has become an all-around scorer with her ability to shoot the 3 and score inside the paint. When the Orange defense forces a miss, Drummond and Mangakahia are the two leading its transition offense. Mangakahia often brings the ball up the court while Drummond either cuts inside or drifts to the corner for a 3-pointer.

After an overtime win against Stony Brook, Hillsman compared his current stars to the two who just graduated. With only one returning starter, this year was supposed to be different. But due to Mangakahia and Drummond, Syracuse is off to its best start in eight years.

“(Mangakahia) is picking up where Peterson left off,” Hillsman said. “And (Drummond) is picking up right where Sykes left off at. We’re getting the same results. We have two dominant players that are able to make plays.”

Published on December 12, 2017 at 4:27 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez