Syracuse women’s basketball continued the school’s dominance over Clemson this year by beating the Tigers 86-51 in the Carrier Dome on Thursday night.
The Orange got off to a quick start and never looked back. Leading 26-16 by the end of the first quarter, Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman’s team moved to 11-0 at home.
“Winning home games is very important in this conference,” said Hillsman.
One of the main reasons for the success at home has been the play of point guard Tiana Mangakahia. The sophomore was one assist shy of posting a double-double with 18 points and 9 assists.
The Orange currently sit at 8th in the ACC. One of the best conferences in the country this year, the ACC has four teams in the top 25. In order to compete in such a tough league, Mangakahia noted that team play night in and night out can get the job done.
“I think all being on the same page and everyone playing hard and tough, that helps.”
While Mangakahia led the team in scoring, she had plenty of help from her teammates. Four of the five starters, including Mangakahia, scored in double figures.
Freshman forward Digna Strautmane had an effective game on both ends of the floor. The standout Latvian had four blocks and three steals to go along with 16 points on 7-13 shooting.
Strautmane’s frontcourt counterpart, freshman Amaya Finklea-Guity, has been playing efficient minutes for the Orange as of late as well. The center shot 4-5 from the field in the win over Clemson, and snatched 8 rebounds for the second game in a row.
Finklea-Guity’s efficiency has spread to the rest of the team. Thursday’s win over Clemson marked the Orange’s best field goal percentage of the season at just over 51 percent.
Syracuse now moves the focus to Boston College on Sunday. The Eagles have struggled thus far this season and find themselves with a 6-14 record heading into Sunday’s game.
The attitude for Syracuse feels much different. Winners of four of their last six conference matchups, head coach Quentin Hillsman has an optimistic outlook heading in to the final 8 games of the regular season.
“I’m really excited about where we are right now,” Hillsman said.
