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Syracuse finished the game hot. As Notre Dame ran an offensive set with the game tied at 69, Kamilla Cardoso stole a loose ball and charged down the floor. Tiana Mangakahia picked out Cardoso, who missed the initial layup but converted the second-chance points after she grabbed her own board. 

Then, Cardoso blocked Danielle Cosgrove’s pull-up jumper, sending the ball back into the Notre Dame player’s face, and Priscilla Williams drained a 3-pointer on the other end. Following a timeout, Cardoso blocked again — this time Notre Dame’s leading scorer Samantha Brunelle — and converted another layup. Syracuse outscored Notre Dame 23-4 in the fourth quarter.

But earlier in the game, Syracuse was cold. It missed its 12 consecutive 3s in the first half, failing to convert opportunity after opportunity, many of which were wide-open looks. Mangakahia had the ball stolen, Brunelle swished a deep 3-pointer and then Mangakahia went down to the other end and missed the same shot Brunelle took. Kiara Lewis, Emily Engstler, Taleah Washington, Digna Strautmane and Williams all missed from beyond the arc as SU conceded a 17-0 run in the first half.

“Sometimes we look a little bit dysfunctional,” Mangakahia said postgame.

In the final quarter, though, Syracuse recovered. Three days after allowing the fewest points of the season against a Power Five team, Syracuse took care of business against Notre Dame. Syracuse (9-3, 6-3 Atlantic Coast) converted just enough of its open looks, finishing 28-of-72 from the field in its 81-69 win over Notre Dame (8-7, 6-5). The Fighting Irish held onto a double-digit lead for much of the game, answering Syracuse’s converted buckets with quick transition buckets of their own as they dissected the 2-3 zone. 

But, like against Clemson, UNC and Pittsburgh, Syracuse came to life late.

“When we’re down, we just know everyone’s strengths: Priscilla can shoot the 3, Kamilla is amazing in the post, we can throw it up to her. We just have to do the little things,” Mangakahia said. Mangakahia finished with 19 points and 11 assists, one rebound short of a triple-double. Cardoso tacked on 18 points.

Ahead of Sunday’s midday game, Notre Dame returned from a week of rest (its last game was a Jan. 24 loss to UNC). Meanwhile, the Orange are amid a stretch that features four games in eight days — for the second time this season.

This past week, Mangakahia said the fatigue of playing so many games in a short period of time takes a toll on her body. The fifth-year senior returned from breast cancer this season and said that, during the last four-game stretch, she at times felt “like a 50-year old.” She said, however, that the rigor would help the team prepare mentally and physically for the ACC and NCAA tournaments.

Sunday afternoon, the Orange looked sluggish early, much like against Clemson. In both games, Syracuse conceded large runs early on — trailing by 10 and 25 at halftime, respectively — before building second-half tempo and rhythm to claw their way back into the game. 

Mangakahia said SU’s win over Notre Dame reminded her of Jan. 19’s against UNC. Both were the second of a four-consecutive game stretch with minimal rest, and both featured late comebacks by the Orange. Both were stressful, she said, and provided “a sigh of relief” when SU won.

Tiana Mangakahia chases the ball against Notre Dame. Courtesy of Dennis Nett | Syracuse.com

Syracuse’s deficit ballooned to as many as 15 points during the first-half, propelled by self-inflicted wounds like turnovers off of poor ball management, missed wide-open looks and a vulnerable zone. The offense shot 13-of-39 in the first half, and Notre Dame marched down the floor by scoring quick transition buckets.

Syracuse stood on multiple first-half occasions, ball-watching as Notre Dame trampled all over the Orange’s zone. Single passes to the baseline beat four SU defenders, and early on, SU didn’t have answers. Dara Mabrey drove down the lane, but instead of putting up the layup when she reached the baseline, she turned and cut back, driving backward in the paint. She picked out a pass to a cutting Maddy Westbeld, who converted the easy layup. 

“We weren’t running like we should,” Williams said of SU’s defense. “So we just got back… we changed our defense up (to man-to-man), and then that slowed them down.”

Even in the second half, Syracuse reduced Notre Dame’s lead to single digits, but Notre Dame seemed to produce a response to each Syracuse bucket. Every time the Orange scored from beyond the arc — or via Engstler and Cardoso inside — Notre Dame responded with its own scores. 

Syracuse moved the ball with more pace, swinging the ball around the arc and stringing together sequences that moved the ball in and out of the paint with finesse. That was clear from the first possession of the third quarter, where SU connected quick passes around the arc before Mangakahia picked out Strautmane under the bucket. After Mangakahia swung to Williams on the left side, Strautmane hit another 3 later in the quarter to cut SU’s lead to five points. 

But Mabrey responded with a wide-open one of her own. Then she hit another, and Syracuse’s momentum didn’t fully metabolize — until Williams sunk her 3-pointer in the last two minutes to give Syracuse a four-point cushion. It was a huge momentum-shifter, she said.

 “We all really play off each other, so if one of us gets a big shot, we’ll all play really good,” Williams said postgame.

Syracuse’s shots — particularly from deep — weren’t falling early, but head coach Quentin Hillsman said he encouraged his players to keep taking open looks. He only worries about the shots his players don’t take, he emphasized postgame. 

“Our players are good players, and they can shoot the ball,” Hillsman said. “So we don’t worry about the misses.”

And eventually, in the second half, those shots did fall. In the fourth quarter, Mangakahia collected a pass from Lewis, set her feet and fired a 3-pointer with no defenders in her face. She converted her fifth 3-pointer of the night, tying her career-high, and Syracuse pulled within four points. Minutes later, Cardoso swatted a shot down on defense. Mangakahia dished to Lewis, who pulled up from beyond the arc for Lewis’ 1000th career point at SU. 

Syracuse started hot, making 3-of-4 from deep. It went cold for the rest of the half, but Lewis’ make tied the game at 67 — and ignited Syracuse’s hot streak, again. 

Published on January 31, 2021 at 1:14 pm

Contact Roshan: [email protected] | @Roshan_f16