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Tiana Mangakahia responded at the free throw line. All season, Syracuse has struggled mightily from the charity stripe, shooting an Atlantic Coast Conference-low 63% from the line. Sunday afternoon, Mangakahia hit both free throws, giving the Orange a 70-67 lead with just over 30 seconds left to play. Pittsburgh head coach Lance White spent his final timeout, setting his team up to either get back within one or tie. 

Panther guard Jayla Everett controlled the inbound and waited until 12 seconds remained on the clock before making her move right. The junior handed to Dayshanette Harris, who drove before kicking it back out. But Destiny Strother’s shot fell short into Emily Engstler’s arms, and Harris fouled out of the game. 

“I thought we had a couple of good looks,” White said, “And (you) know now, you just gotta knock ’em down and give yourself a chance to send it to overtime and play.” 

For the second time, the Orange played the final leg of four games in eight days down to the wire, against an inferior opponent on the road. And like its 86-77 loss to Clemson on Jan. 24, Pittsburgh outhustled Syracuse on both ends of the floor in the first half. But unlike the Tigers, the Panthers struggled to capitalize. Syracuse (11-4, 8-4 Atlantic Coast) overcame a six-point first quarter — the fewest since a four-point quarter against UNLV on Dec. 22, 2017 — to top Pittsburgh (4-7, 2-6). In the process, Orange hit a season-high 23 free throws and notched their first road win, 71-67, since Dec 20. 

“I just thought that down the stretch that our kids did a really good job of playing tough,” head coach Quentin Hillsman said. 

Syracuse originally sprung out to a 5-0 lead. Mangakahia penetrated on the drive, and the ball rotated freely from one side of the floor to the other. It opened up Cardoso for a layup opportunity where she was fouled and sank both free throws. And then it created open looks for Digna Strautmane and Kiara Lewis from 3. 

The latter connected from well beyond the arc. For White, it appeared the Orange would continue the momentum from its 20-2 run that closed out the Panthers 81-57 on Jan. 28. Instead, Syracuse failed to hit a shot the ensuing 10 minutes. 

During the stretch, the Orange missed 16 field goals, and the offensive focus diminished with each miss. Emily Engstler traveled on a drive from the left wing. Mangakahia had her pocket picked for another Pittsburgh layup, and Lewis gave it away on the following possession. The Panthers stretched their lead to as high as 15 in the first by way of 12 Syracuse turnovers. 

“I don’t know what it is about the road,” Hillsman said. “(When) we on the road, we come out sluggish.”

Tiana Mangakahia had 11 assists in Syracuse’s win over Pittsburgh. Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

Everett epitomized Pitt’s first-half with a block of freshman Faith Blackstone. She promptly dribbled back down the floor, hesitated on the left wing then blew past Lewis for a layup. Syracuse looked to push right back up the floor to Kamilla Cardoso, who’d lingered behind from previous possession. 

What appeared to be an uncontested layup was soon accompanied by Everett, who beat every other Syracuse player down the floor to swipe at Cardoso, altering the center’s shooting motion and forcing a miss off the glass. While Cardoso finished 10 points in the first half, the Orange shot just 22% from the field. And yet, Engstler 3-pointer before the buzzer cut the halftime lead to eight. 

In the second half, Syracuse started strong. Mangakahia orchestrated the offense, picking out Cardoso twice around the rim before swinging to Lewis on the left wing for a 3-pointer. The Pittsburgh lead evaporated to a point, and White called for a timeout. 

“We made four crucial errors in a row, and unforced,” White said. “One kid takes up the ball and steamrolls. We don’t go rebound. Things that we have to do in order for this team to win.” 

The stoppage settled his team, but the Orange had multiple chances to tie down by three in the third. One time Lewis turned it over, but Syracuse got a stop. Another time Mangakahia found Cardoso for a layup, but Pitt responded. 

The Panthers could only hold for so long. Up 47-45 in the final minute of the third quarter, Everett took off down the floor with a similar pace to her pivotal sequence in the first half. Only four Syracuse players found the gear to catch her, so when Everett tried to swing a pass to the weak side, Priscilla Williams picked it off and got the Orange started the other way. The opportunity ended in a Lewis jumper and the first tie of the game. Lewis took control in the waning seconds as well, getting to the foul line and giving SU a 49-47 lead at the end of three. 

“I thought that Kiki did a great job for us down the stretch,” Hillsman said. “When she scored the ball, and was really, really impressive downhill.”

In the final frame, Syracuse built on its 10-0 run. The Orange found perpetual success getting the ball inside. Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi’s short jumper from the high post was the furthest shot attempt from the basket until a missed Lewis 3-pointer with 6:59 left. Williams scored a layup off the 700th assist of Mangakahia’s career. An Engstler layup and two Cardoso free throws pushed Syracuse’s lead to eight. The freshman finished with 22 points and eight rebounds. 

Like the Orange though, the Panthers stayed resilient. When Cardoso pushed the lead to 60-54, Gabbie Green brought the deficit back within a possession. Later, Mangakahia’s clutch 3-pointer was answered by Everett’s own. As Syracuse tried to hang on with free throws, Everett buried another from long range to make it 68-67. The more experienced Orange simply outlasted the Panthers, and that came to fruition with Mangakahia’s two makes and the miss by Struthers. 

Engstler iced it with one more conversion at the charity stripe, securing Syracuse a sorely needed boost of confidence away from home.

Published on February 7, 2021 at 4:36 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu