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Slow starts have plagued Syracuse all season. Heading into the Orange’s matchup with Boston College, they hadn’t led at the end of a first quarter in six consecutive games. They’ve scored in single digits in the first quarter three times this season and frequently trailed by double digits in the first half, too.

Syracuse deficits require “stressful” comebacks, according to Tiana Mangakahia. It’s become a troubling trend for the Orange, one that ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme emphasized was detrimental to Syracuse’s NCAA tournament seeding. 

But Thursday night was different. 

Syracuse jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and never trailed against Boston College. At home, where Syracuse is undefeated (8-0), and hosting the Atlantic Coast Conference’s worst team, there was never any doubt on head coach Quentin Hillsman’s team — SU led for all 40 minutes. Five players scored in double-digit figures, led by Mangakahia’s 19 points, Emily Engstler’s 18 and Priscilla Williams’ 15 plus 10 boards. 

The win keeps Syracuse in fourth place, on track to earn the No. 4 seed in the ACC tournament and a second-round bye. Mangakahia said Hillsman brought it up mid-game while addressing the team during a timeout.

“He was like ‘C’mon, we really need this double-bye,’” Mangakahia said. “We just wanted to go out there and smash them, pretty much, so it did motivate us a lot.”

The first time SU played the Eagles this season on Dec. 20 — its last game prior to a three-week pause due to COVID-19 — it resulted in a strong 13-point win for the Orange. Without Mangakahia due to a foot injury the week prior, the Orange turned to scoring in the paint.

Up until that point, Syracuse had been firing off 3-pointer after 3-pointer through its first five games. To a certain degree, that trend has continued into February. 

The Orange came into Thursday’s game attempting the third-most 3-pointers in the ACC while sinking them at the fifth-worst rate in the conference. But Thursday, Syracuse followed a similar blueprint that it used in December against the Eagles, Mangakahia said, when it scored 52 points in the paint: It drove inside.

Syracuse (12-6, 9-6 ACC) torched the Eagles (6-11, 2-11) for 48 points in the paint. It added eight 3-pointers for a balanced offensive game but took full advantage of its height inside. The average height of Boston College’s five starters was 5-foot-10, two inches shorter than Syracuse’s average, and no player stood within four inches of Kamilla Cardoso’s 6-foot-7 frame.

Syracuse showed patience. The Orange picked out passes inside, frequently dished by Mangakahia, who finished with seven assists. Syracuse fired 24 attempts from beyond the arc, on par with its average of 25 per game, but made a clear effort to find the extra pass, so much so that Hillsman frequently yelled “shoot the ball” at Mangakahia. 

On one instance, the fifth-year point guard was right under the bucket when she lobbed a one-handed hook pass to Williams along the left side of the arc. The freshman grabbed the pass, set her feet and airballed a 3-pointer. 

Seconds later, Hillsman yelled “shoot the ball” again, emphasizing that he wanted to take the two easy points inside as opposed to the deep shot. While officials conversed moments later, he leaned toward Mangakahia to once again — this time more quietly — tell her that she needed to shoot the ball.

“It’s just about being aggressive and taking open shots,” Hillsman said postgame. “(It) wasn’t frustration, it was just what she needed to do … I want to be really aggressive and let our players play off of her.”

In the third quarter, Mangakahia started driving. She started on the right side of the arc, cutting around the edge before making her move inside. She drew contact, converting an underhand shot as she hit the ground — and the ensuing free throw.

Moments prior, Kiara Lewis received a pass at the baseline, dribbled twice, spun and tossed in a smooth layup for Syracuse’s 30th point in the paint to extend its lead to 15. 

Engstler received a high pass from Mangakahia in the middle of the paint, with her back to the bucket. She took two hard dribbles, backing into the Boston College defender, and then spun to her right to convert the effort. She pump-faked and drove to the baseline, tossing a shot off the glass over her defender in the fourth quarter, too. 

Defensively, Boston College took advantage of the fast break. To start the second half, Engstler received a pass from Williams and unleashed a 3-pointer. Her shot was short — leading Hillsman to shout from the sideline — but then the Eagles charged down to the other end of the floor. They converted the layup on a second chance before Engstler could recover in time. 

The Eagles frequently looked for a cross-court pass, the one pass that beat the entire Orange defense. On numerous occasions, they found it. Syracuse looked sluggish at times in the first half, but got back more quickly during the second half. 

“Running back on defense, that’s the main one I guess,” Engstler said of SU’s defensive adjustments. “But just energy, energy, energy.”

Kiara Lewis played all 40 minutes and finished with 14 points. Courtesy of Mark Konezny | USA Today Sports

Hillsman yelled instructions to his team most frequently on defense, listing adjustments that the Orange needed to make to handle Boston College’s offensive pace. In the fanless Carrier Dome, it was easy to hear Hillsman’s directions, such as “Stay, stay, stay,” or “Move right,” “Move left” and “Shift over.”

Down 18 in the third quarter, Boston College sent two defenders toward Mangakahia on the full-court press. She cut right and then left, then realized there wasn’t an outlet. From the sideline, Boston College’s bench players yelled “Don’t foul, don’t foul, don’t foul.” 

But seconds later, Mangakahia cut between the two of them, and they had no choice. The whistle blew as she got fouled and proceeded to sink both free throws with ease.

For Boston College, the conference’s worst team, there was little it could do to stop the Orange. Syracuse showed on-and-off areas that could still use improvement on Thursday night, but there was no doubt that they were in control all throughout.

Published on February 25, 2021 at 10:18 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16