Women's basketball beat in-state rivals, remain undefeated

Following a tight overtime win over Stony Brook on Sunday, the Orange left no doubt of a win on Wednesday.

Syracuse (9-0) got an early lead over Colgate (4-5) and never looked back, winning 79-39. While the Orange lit up the scoreboard, it was the defensive effort that got the attention of head coach Quentin Hillsman.

“We challenged them to just come out and play hard, get our tempo back, run them off the three-point line and not give them open looks, and they did exactly what we asked them to do. I’m just really happy with their productivity and their effort,” Hillsman said.

The full-court press of the Orange had Colgate on the ropes all night. Syracuse forced 20 turnovers in the game, and turned those turnovers into 30 points on the other end.

Syracuse was led by redshirt junior Miranda Drummond. The forward had 18 points on 4-7 shooting from 3-point land. The territory isn’t new to Drummond as the junior is averaging a team best 19.1 points per game.

Drummond’s high scoring teammate, sophomore point guard Tiana Mangakahia, almost had a double-double in tonight’s game. The Australian had 13 points to go along with 9 assists. A lot of those assists came off balanced play.

“We were all scoring and we were all making an impact in the game,” Mangakahia said.

Balance was the name of the game tonight for the Orange as four players were in double figures. Along with Drummond and Mangakahia, freshman Digna Strautmane and redshirt junior Isis Young posted double digits in the scoring column.

Sophomore guard Gabrielle Cooper, the lone returning starter on the Syracuse roster this year, had 9 points on three 3-pointers. For a team that starts two freshmen and two sophomores, the team has impressed coach Hillsman this season.

“We have 10 or 11 newcomers that have never played college basketball here at Syracuse University but is playing in their first 9 games and won them all," Hillsman said. "So, it says a lot about them, it says a lot about our team, a lot about the effort they’ve given us."

The Orange now move the focus to Drexel. The Drexel women are riding a three-game win streak of their own, and will come in to the game with a 5-3 record. The game is at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the Carrier Dome.