women's basketball

Syracuse to play at Minnesota in ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge

Codie Yan | Staff Photographer

Both Syracuse and Minnesota made the NCAA Tournament in 2017.

Syracuse will meet Minnesota for the first time in the programs’ histories on Nov. 29 in the ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge, SU Athletics announced in a release. The Orange will travel and play in Minneapolis for the game between two 2017 NCAA Tournament teams.

The Orange has not won on the road in its two prior ACC/Big Ten Challenge games, while it has won all three of the contests it has played at home. Most recently, Syracuse beat Northwestern in 2017 behind 55 combined points from Tiana Mangakahia and Miranda Drummond.

Minnesota is 4-7 in its history in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In 2017, the Golden Gophers were 78-68 victors over a Boston College team that finished 7-23.

Last season, Syracuse and Minnesota both made it to the NCAA Tournament. The Orange was knocked off in the first round by Oklahoma State, while the Golden Gophers beat Green Bay before falling to Oregon in the second round.

The Golden Gophers return three of their top four scorers, including do-it-all guard Kenisha Bell, who averaged 20.0 points, 6.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game in the 2017-18 season. Minnesota will be under the tutelage of former Golden Gophers and current Minnesota Lynx star, Lindsay Whalen, who returns to her alma mater as a first-time head coach.



Syracuse brings back its top seven scorers from a season ago, including the country’s assists leader, Mangakahia. The Orange and head coach Quentin Hillsman also bring in what ESPN ranked as the No. 8 recruiting class in the nation.





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