Syracuse women’s basketball falls to Georgia Tech on the road

The Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team (9-4, 6-4 ACC) were unable to overcome the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-3, 8-2 ACC) as they lost 76-63 in Atlanta on Tuesday. Syracuse trailed by as many as 18 points in the contest but cut the lead to three early in the final quarter before Georgia Tech pulled away.

© Olivia Coiro, Syracuse Athletics

Tiana Mangakahia tallied a near double-double with 15 points and nine assists. Kamilla Cardoso led the team with 18 points, while Priscilla Williams contributed 10 points.

Recap

Tiana Mangakahia, Kiara Lewis, Priscilla Williams, Digna Strautmane, and ACC Freshman of the Week Kamilla Cardoso started for the Orange.

The Yellow Jackets started the contest on a 7-0 run, forcing Quentin Hillsman to take a timeout at 8:06. Syracuse went on an 8-2 run out of the timeout to bring the game within one, 9-8, at the midway point of the opening quarter. Georgia Tech ended Q1 on a 19-4 run to lead 28-12 into the second quarter.

Cardoso opened the second quarter scoring for the Orange with a layup, 28-14 Yellow Jackets. Two straight three’s from Williams made it a 10-point game, 32-22, at 4:57. Both teams traded shots through the rest of the quarter, ending the half with a 40-27 Tech advantage. The Orange held the Yellow Jackets to 4-15 shooting in the second frame, compared to the team’s 6-12 field goals.

Syracuse shot 44.4 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three, compared to Georgia Tech’s 46.7 percent and 25 percent in the opening half. The Yellow Jackets got to the free throw line 11 times, sinking eight attempts, while the Orange did not shoot a free throw in the first half. Syracuse committed nine turnovers and forced six Tech turnovers.

Cardoso and Williams led the team with eight points each in the first half. Cardoso and Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi added three rebounds, while Mangakahia dished out four assists. Lewis was 0-7 from the field in the first half.

Four straight Orange scores opened the third quarter, cutting the Yellow Jacket advantage to single digits, 40-35, at 7:12. Georgia Tech was 0-6 from the floor in the first three minutes of the third. Tech got their lead back up to 11, 50-39, at 3:30. Five straight points from Emily Engstler kept the Orange within six, 54-48, into the final quarter.

A three from Strautmane brought the score to 54-51 at 8:27 of the final frame. The three marked the senior’s 1,000th career point. Tech regained a double-digit lead at the midway point of the quarter and would hold on to win, 76-63.

Stats

• Syracuse shot 54 percent from the field and 45 percent from three. Georgia Tech went 49 percent from the field and 29 percent from three. The Yellow Jackets shot 21 free throws (made 16), while the Orange shot four (made 0).
• ‘Cuse committed 17 turnovers and forced 13 Tech turnovers. The Yellow Jackets outrebounded the Orange 33-23 and outscored them in bench points (17-9), fast break points (14-7), and second chance points (8-2). Syracuse outscored Georgia Tech in points in the paint, 46-32. Tech also held the advantage in steals (11-3).
• Mangakahia went 7-10 from the field and also contributed four rebounds.
• Cardoso shot 9-12 from the field and added four rebounds and a block.
• Williams added one rebound, one block, and one steal. The freshman was 4-7 from the field and 2-3 from behind the arc.
• Strautmane recorded seven points, three assists, two rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. She is the 31st player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
• Lewis tallied four points (2-11) and added two assists in the loss.
• Engstler tallied seven rebounds and five points off the bench.
• Djaldi-Tabdi tallied three boards in the game.
• Taleah Washington (2 pts) and Amaya Finklea-Guity (2) rounded out the scoring for the Orange.
• Lorela Cubaj led the Yellow Jackets with 21 points and nine rebounds.

Takeaways

Positive: Despite the loss, Syracuse shot well in the game. The team was 5-11 from three and 29-54 from the field.

Negative: After dominating the month of January, Lewis and Engstler had a quiet night on Tuesday. Turnovers also continue to be an issue for the Orange. Mangakahia and Engstler committed 10 of the team’s 17 turnovers (five each).

Next up, the Orange will host Wake Forest on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. EST. The game will air on ACC Network.