Mangakahia surpasses 1,000 points as Orange women ground Eagles
SU women finish season with second win over Boston College
Junior guard Tiana Mangakahia scored 27 points in a 76-59 win over Boston College, becoming the fastest player in Syracuse history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
The final score does not tell the whole story, as this game was close for the entirety of the first half. It was a slow start for both teams as they combined for only seven points over the first five minutes. One reason for the Orange’s slow start was ball security. SU committed seven turnovers in the first quarter. Another reason was Boston College’s defense on Mangakahia early on, with the Eagles holding the junior scoreless for nearly the first 10 minutes of the game.
After converting a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining, Mangakahia was only two points away from 1,000. On the ensuing BC possession, Isis Young stole the ball and threw it to Mangakahia. With the clock winding down, Mangakahia pulled up from well beyond the three-point line, watching her shot bank off the backboard and drop through the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded to finish the first quarter. She reached 1,000 points and tied the game at 15 in spectacular fashion.
Syracuse (22-7, 11-5) convincingly defeated Boston College (14-15, 3-13) by 27 points back on Feb. 10. This time, the Orange had trouble creating separation in the first half. In addition to seven first-quarter turnovers, SU missed six layups in the second quarter and led by just one point at halftime.
After seven seesaw minutes to open the third quarter, the No. 17-ranked Orange finally distanced itself from the Eagles. SU went on a 16-5 run spanning the final three minutes of the third quarter and carried over to the 8:48 mark of the fourth. This spurt gave Syracuse its largest lead of the game to that point at 59-47.
The Eagles scored the next three points to cut the lead back to nine but that is as close as they would get to the Orange. Syracuse ended the game on a 17-9 run to remove all doubt and end its regular season on a positive note.
Mangakahia was one of three Orange women in double figures. Digna Strautmane contributed 16 and Miranda Drummond added 10. Emma Guy led the Eagles with 18 points and Makayla Dickens had 10.
Syracuse will be the fifth seed in the ACC tournament which takes place March 6-10 in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Orange will play on Thursday against the winner of a Wednesday matchup between Virginia and Boston College.