Lewis, second-half comeback break two-game losing streak for SU women

The Syracuse Women’s Basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak against Duke for their first victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium in team history. The Orange had a huge comeback and beat the Blue Devils 64-55 in a back-and-forth matchup.

Syracuse got off to a quick start with three-pointers from Tiana Mangakahia, Kiara Lewis and Miranda Drummond. Going into the second quarter, the Orange offense began to falter. The team could not keep possession of the ball and was heavily outrebounded by the Blue Devils. Duke went on a 12-1 run at the end of the half to take the lead 26-21. The majority of those points came off of Syracuse turnovers.

After an inconsistent first half, the Orange went on a 15-0 run to open the third quarter. The boost on offense came from Lewis and Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi. Lewis knocked down five from beyond the arc leading to a momentum shift and the lead. She was able to get open looks because of the work in the paint by Djaldi-Tabdi. She was making the layups that Syracuse struggled to make in the first half and opened up the offense.

At the end of the third quarter, the Orange had their largest lead of the game after a 32-13 run, up 52-39, but this did not stop Duke from cutting the Syracuse lead down to five in the fourth quarter. Despite the late 9-0 run by the Blue Devils, a three-point shot from Mangakahia sealed the victory for Syracuse.

The big lead change was led by Lewis, who finished with a career-high 20 points. Her execution from three changed the tone of this game. She was hitting shots that she and her teammates struggled to make early in the game. In the first half, Syracuse only made 33 percent of their three-pointers. With the tremendous effort from Lewis, they were able to make 46 percent from behind the arc.

Mangakahia, who has struggled in recent games and had a quiet first half, came alive in the second half and finished with 13 points. She made both of her three-point attempts and created points for her teammates through seven assists.

Next up for the Orange is a home game against Virginia. Last season, the ranked Orange took care of business against the unranked Cavaliers in the Dome. Thursday, Syracuse fans will see if Coach Quentin Hillsman and his team will maintain the momentum gained and grab another ACC win.

Tipoff is at 7 p.m.