Women's Basketball

Syracuse’s comeback falls short in 76-63 loss to Georgia Tech

Elizabeth Billman | Senior Staff Photographer

Kiara Lewis started cold for the Orange, shooting 0-for-7 from the floor to start the game.

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Syracuse trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half against Georgia Tech, but for the Orange, it was nothing new. 

Against Notre Dame on Sunday, the Orange started slow and was down by as many as 15, but they recovered to win. Against Clemson the Sunday prior, SU trailed by 25 — once again, courtesy of a sluggish start — and forced overtime. Against North Carolina last month, SU outscored the Tar Heels 27-9 in the final frame for a comeback win. All three games were in the last two weeks.

Tuesday night in Atlanta, though, SU couldn’t do it again. The Orange opened the second half down 13 and cut Georgia Tech’s deficit to single digits with an 8-0 run. But in the final frame, Syracuse’s defense couldn’t halt the Yellow Jackets (10-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast). The Orange (9-4, 6-4) shot 54% from the field, but their win-streak was halted at two games with a 76-63 loss, as it trailed for the entirety of the game and never recovered.

“It’s the slow start, but we got it within three, and we weren’t able to capitalize on opportunities,” head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “We got to be able to close those games down.” 



Continuously recovering from double-digit deficits can be a stressful process that takes a toll, Tiana Mangakahia said last week. After the comeback against the Fighting Irish, Mangakahia said “it was a sigh of relief.” 

The Orange have now played three games in six days, with the fourth in eight days scheduled for Thursday. SU returns home to face Wake Forest. Against Georgia Tech, fatigue didn’t show offensively. But defensively, down the stretch, SU couldn’t produce the necessary stops.

“It seemed like Syracuse scored every time they came down the floor,” Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner said. “But we were much more aggressive in trying to play downhill and getting to that free-throw line, and that made a huge difference tonight.”

Riding a five-game winning streak, the Yellow Jackets hadn’t lost since Jan. 3 against Notre Dame. Georgia Tech sat in third place in the ACC standings heading into Tuesday, one spot above the Orange. Originally scheduled for Jan. 14, SU-Georgia Tech was rescheduled for Tuesday due to Syracuse’s three-week pause due to COVID-19.

Three weeks after the originally scheduled game, Syracuse trailed by six at the start of the fourth quarter and found the same next-gear offensive performance that’s appeared frequently as of recent. Digna Strautmane dispatched a 3-pointer from the left corner to make it a one-possession game with eight minutes left in regulation. Then Kiara Lewis drove inside and drew contact from Lorela Cubaj but missed both free throws. SU finished 0-of-4 from the stripe, compared to Georgia Tech’s 16-of-21 performance.

Syracuse let Nerea Hermosa in behind, and one deep, fast-break pass beat the entire SU defense in the final four minutes. She dispatched an easy layup to put Georgia Tech up by double-digits once again.

Georgia Tech drove inside, using its size and speed to draw fouls and convert gritty buckets inside. Cubaj capitalized against Emily Engstler in the paint in the last five minutes, often in response to Syracuse’s offensive buckets. Hillsman said postgame that Cubaj, who led both teams with 21 points,was “phenomenal.”

“She was just getting the ball in places where she was able to play some one-on-one,” Fortner said. “She was getting matched up on the block maybe one-on-one, with Engstler, and being able to go at her pretty strong.”

At one point during the fourth quarter, Hillsman came charging onto the floor and waving his arms in the air, screaming at Kamilla Cardoso and Engstler after calling a timeout. He ripped off his mask and started the timeout by lecturing his center and guard. SU had just conceded a two-point play in the post, where Cubaj created separation and outmuscled Engstler. Cardoso stood near the free throw line, ball-watching.

Sixteen of Georgia Tech’s 22 fourth-quarter points were scored by Cubaj, Hermosa and Kierra Fletcher. Last game for Syracuse, Mangakahia and Lewis fueled the comeback. This time, Georgia Tech’s veterans took over. 

“That’s your experience right there,” Fortner said of Cubaj and Fletcher’s late performances. “Super proud of how we played, poised on the offensive end when we… really had to score.”

Syracuse’s deficit was fueled by its slow start, something that’s become routine for SU. It trailed 28-12 after the first 10 minutes. Cardoso sent a pass flying over Priscilla Williams’ head and beyond the right boundary for SU’s opening possession, as well as after SU lost the ball again before Lewis missed a wide-open jumper from the elbow. Syracuse trailed 7-0 and Hillsman called timeout after just over two minutes.

Early on, Syracuse struggled to break Georgia Tech’s heavy pressure. Mangakahia split a double team at midcourt and connected with a swift pass to Strautmane, but she bricked the wide-open 3. Lewis tried to fight through a double team at the logo later but was forced backward, past midcourt, for an over-and-back violation. 

In the second quarter, Syracuse started cold from 3 with a wide-open Lewis miss (she started 0-of-7 from the floor, too). SU missed six consecutive shots from beyond the arc to open the game, and Georgia Tech had no problem offering SU deep shots. Even forward Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi attempted one. By the end of the night, the Orange had fired only 11 shots from beyond the arc, something Fortner said the Yellow Jackets worked to close down and limit. 

Instead, the Orange turned to 46 points in the paint. On its 8-0 run straight out of halftime, Lewis dumped a pass to Strautmane underneath for a layup, and Mangakahia collected a rebound and carried the ball up-court with pace. Georgia Tech’s defenders tried to blitz her into an error, but Mangakahia dished a pass to Cardoso on her right, who had run the full length of the court. Cardoso converted, and Mangakahia had another layup.

The fifth-year point guard finished with 15 points and nine assists, one short of a double-double. In the first half, Mangakahia unleashed a highlight-worthy underhanded shovel pass behind her back to Cardoso, who dispatched the easy layup from under the bucket. Cardoso finished 9-of-12 for a team-high 18 points, but Georgia Tech played physical with her by crowding her, Hillsman said postgame.

On the final play of the third quarter, Engstler intercepted a pass from Georgia Tech and spotted up for a 3-pointer. With three seconds left on the clock, she drained the deep shot and pulled SU within six to start the final frame.

As she trotted to the sideline for the break, it seemed like her shot may have been the beginning of yet another SU comeback. But Tuesday night, unlike four of SU’s last five games, the Orange couldn’t outscore their opponent in the fourth quarter.

Tuesday night, finally, Syracuse couldn’t complete the late comeback.

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