Syracuse Women's Basketball: Looking Ahead to ACC Action
Coach Quentin Hillsman and company will travel to Miami for a conference matchup set to tip-off in just two short days. The last time the two teams met the Hurricanes defeated a Tiana Mangakahia-less Syracuse squad. This time around, the Orange will have their All-American guard.
"She is doing well," Hillsman said. "If you average the two games she has played the most minutes (Mangakahia only played 15 minutes in the unofficial-turned-official blow-out win vs Lincoln) she will probably be first-team all-conference."
The last time Mangakahia brought the ball up the court vs the Hurricanes was back in 2019 during the ACC Tournament. She put on an absolute show in a winning effort for the Orange. Mangakahia recorded 25 points and 13 assists in a game in which Syracuse tied the all-time record for threes in ACC Tournament play while shooting 45% from long-range.
Another player who had a solid impact in the game vs Miami in 2019 was Digna Strautamane, scoring 15 points and grabbing nine rebounds. She is quietly doing the same so far this season for the Orange. Strautmane played one of the best overall games of her career vs. Penn State, grabbing eight rebounds, four of which were offensive, blocking four shots, and showing consent activity on defense with three steals. Her value may not always jump out on the stat sheet, but it does to coach Hillsman.
"Digna has been a jack of all trades for us," Hillsman said. "She does a great job of doing what we need her to do for us to win. We are fortunate to have a player who can figure out in the midst of a game, 'I need to rebound, I need to defend better, I need to make some shots.' She is very much intuned that way."
Strautmane is not alone when it comes to players on this Syracuse team who have been playing well while juggling different roles, Kiara Lewis has embraced the opportunity of playing at a high level on both ends of the court. She hopes to do the same in her first conference match-up of the season.
"You have to be in the right type of shape," Lewis said. "I know I am going to be playing over 30 minutes a game and we like to press a lot and I have to score the ball."
Despite having played just three games this season, Lewis believes the Orange is ready for conference play, a game that otherwise would occur later on in the season but due to the condensed COVID-19 riddled season, conference play will happen early and often.
"I think we are very ready," Lewis said. "We played a power-five team in our last game. I think that was a good test for us. Now going to play against Miami on the road, it will be a good test to get started in the ACC."
One key to watch for in the upcoming matchup vs Miami for the Orange is turnovers. Syracuse has done a good job of forcing opponents into turning the ball over, especially when coach Hillsman ranches up the intensity with a full-court press. However, the Orange have had their own issues giving up the ball at an alarming rate this season. The ladies know how important it is to keep turnovers down to succeed, and it goes beyond the games.
"We have our goal sheet, if we do not make it we have to pay the price in practice," Lewis said. "We cannot have more than 12 turnovers, I know the last game we had (a bunch). That is not going to work once we start getting deeper into ACC play and play better teams."
The team is looking forward to a trip down to Miami, even though the players are not allowed to leave their hotel rooms due to the coronavirus pandemic, it will be a breath of fresh (and warm) air, which Lewis is excited for.
"It is probably 80 degrees there," Lewis said. "That is always fun. It is one of the trips I always look forward to. We will get a little breeze as we walk into the hotel and into the bus."
Syracuse jumped up two spots to No.20 in the Associated Press rankings last week. The ladies will tip-off at Miami this Thursday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m., looking to stay undefeated on the year. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.
