WBB: Tiana Mangakahia Sets ACC Record in Win Over Boston College

By Brittany Ehrlich

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse women’s basketball defeated Boston College 69-63 on Sunday afternoon in the Carrier Dome. The Eagles kept up with the Orange until the very end, when Gabrielle Cooper hit a big three-pointer in the fourth with 2:10 to go to distance Syracuse from Boston.

“Obviously we are very happy with the outcome but we have to give Boston College a lot of credit,” head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “They came in and played really tough. They are a very aggressive team, their half-court defense is really good and they ran some good sets. We did a good job of gritting it out and playing tough.”

Cooper finished the afternoon with 12 points and two steals for the Orange. When asked about her late three-pointer shot, Cooper tried to play it off.

“It felt good,” said Cooper. “It was just another shot.”

From there, SU’s defensive play carried the Orange to its 22nd win of the season.

“Gabby hit a big shot and I took the timeout and I told them two stops, two buckets, that’s it,” Hillsman said.

Cooper wasn’t the only player to make a difference this afternoon. Tiana Mangakahia finished the game with 22 points, including the game-sealing layup with 1:13 left in the game. This marked her 10th game of the season with 20-plus points.

Mangakahia also broke the ACC single-season assists record on her first one of the afternoon, a record previously held by Lindsay Allen (282) from Notre Dame. The sophomore finished the game with six assists, bringing her season total to 288.

Despite the low score, Syracuse was still able to knock down ten three-pointers from beyond the arc. This is the 15th time SU has hit ten or more three-pointers.

Another key difference in pulling out the win for Syracuse was Miranda Drummond, who tallied ten rebounds. This was her third double-digit rebounding game of the season.

Syracuse now takes its five-game winning streak to the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Orange were slotted at the number eight seed in the ACC and are set to face number nine seed Virginia Tech.

The Hokies handed the Orange their first home loss of the season on February 1 in their last meeting. SU’s 73-64 snapped an 11-game win streak inside the Carrier Dome.

This will be the first time the two schools face off in the postseason. Syracuse is 4-4 in the ACC Tournament since joining the league in the 2013-14 season. Last year, Syracuse went 1-1 with a win of No. 14 North Carolina before losing to No. 3 Duke 68-46.