For the first time this season, Syracuse (12-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) lost back-to-back games. The Orange fell 68-63 to Virginia (9-6, 2-0) in Charlottesville, after shooting 4-for-15 from the field and committing eight turnovers in the final frame. It marked the first time in three years that Syracuse dropped its first two conference games.

“It’s tough to play on the road,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “You hope to put up a good performance, we did a good job of fighting … It’s my responsibility to get them more prepared. This is the first close game we didn’t finish.”

Tiana Mangakahia led SU with 20 points and eight assists. She shot 7-for-21 from the field and made a season-high five 3-pointers on a season-high 13 attempts. Over her last two games, she’s connected on nine of her 20 3-pointers. On Sunday, she was SU’s offense as no other Orange made more than 3 field goals. Eventually, the Orange point guard ran out of steam and SU’s offense turned anemic. She made a jumper during Syracuse’s first possession of the fourth quarter, giving SU the lead. Mangakahia then missed her next five shots and had five of her 12 turnovers in the fourth quarter.

“They got some deflections on the ball,” Hillsman said. “We need to make sure she has good spacing when she’s driving and better player movement. Those are things that are fixable that we can work on.”

Syracuse utilized a six-player rotation, with the five usual starters and Isis Young recording double-digit minutes. Digna Strautmane tallied 10 points and Gabrielle Cooper added eight points.

Miranda Drummond, SU’s scoring leader with 17.1 points per game, posted just six points. It was just the second time this season that the redshirt-junior has scored less than 10 points in a game. Her six attempted field goals tied a season low. Against Coastal Carolina on Dec. 17, Hillsman stated that Drummond didn’t play poorly, but the opposition centered their game plan around her. Sunday’s contest was similar.

“People understand that she’s a good spot-up shooter,” Hillsman said. “They aren’t going to give her those looks anymore. We have to get her moving around… We need to get more productivity from some other players.”

The Orange went on a 17-2 run bridging the first and second quarters to take a six-point lead but couldn’t pull away. The Cavaliers responded with an 8-0 run midway through the second to tie the game. After that, the team’s traded baskets and stayed within six points before UVA pulled away.

“Down the stretch we missed a couple assignments on defense,” Hillsman said. “We missed a free throw box-out, there were just a few plays we didn’t make.”

SU’s last game of 2017 ended a five-game road trip. The Orange will kick off 2018 with its first conference game in the Carrier Dome on Jan. 4 against Georgia Tech (12-3, 1-1).

Published on December 31, 2017 at 5:38 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez