No. 15 Syracuse Thumps Boston College in Bounce Back Victory

By A.J. Fabbri

CitrusTV Women’s Lacrosse Reporter

Coming off its most lopsided loss of the season, No. 15 Syracuse (18-5, 7-3 Atlantic Coast) used a first half offensive barrage to take down Boston College (14-10, 3-7) 96-69 in the Carrier Dome Sunday afternoon.

Miranda Drummond was lights out, shooting 9 of 13 from the field and 6 of 9 from deep to tally a season-high 24 points.

The Eagles opened up the game in a zone-look on defense, and the Orange made them pay.

“Boston College was more focused on our post players, so I guess that created the open shots for me,” Drummond said.

All of Drummond’s season-high six triples came in the first 20 minutes, as SU knocked down 10 as a team in the first half. After posting just 51 points against the Cardinals on Thursday, SU topped that total by halftime against BC, leading 53-34 at the break.

The sharp shooting is representative of SU’s resilience this season. On January 20th, Syracuse faced a similar 2-3 zone look against Georgia Tech. SU shot just 23.9% in the 65-55 loss to the Yellow Jackets, their lowest point total of the year at that time.

“BC plays primarily zone, so we were ready for them to play zone,” Head Coach Quentin Hillsman explained. “We were a little surprised Georgia Tech came out in zone when they did. Tonight we were prepared for it and hit shots.”

Boston College gave the Orange a slight scare to start off the second half. The Eagles opened up the third on a 6-0 run to make it 53-40, the closest the score had been since the three-minute mark of the second quarter.

But Syracuse continued to dictate the pace of the game. The SU pressure was as effective as it had been all year. Tiana Mangakahia, Gabrielle Cooper and Drummond were ball hawks at the top of the press. The Orange forced 17 Eagle turnovers, scoring 24 points on the BC giveaways.

Isis Young drilled a three before the third quarter buzzer, pushing the lead back to 20 and effectively icing the game.

Drummond was the standout of the contest, but the entire team contributed throughout the contest.

Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi, who has been SU’s most reliable interior presence all season, finished with 16 points on an efficient 8 of 12 shooting, along with six boards. The redshirt played just 14 minutes.

Freshman Emily Engstler hit two threes and finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Digna Strautmane, Amaya Finklea and Cooper posted eight points each, as 11 SU players scored in the contest.

Mangakahia posted just five points but dished out 12 assists.

Syracuse now sits at 6th in the current ACC standings. The win sets the stage for another matchup with a top 15 opponent. On Wednesday, #12 North Carolina State will visit the Carrier Dome at 7 pm. The Wolfpack started the season 21-0, but has dropped two in a row to North Carolina and Florida State. The outcome of the contest possesses major ramifications pertaining to ACC Tournament seeding.

ajfabbri@syr.edu | @armand_john