No. 12 Syracuse (6-2) was on the wrong end of a 12-4 late fourth-quarter run and fell to No. 20 Minnesota (6-0), 72-68, on Thursday night in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. The Golden Gophers halted SU’s five-game winning streak. Both of the Orange’s losses have come in true road games against ranked opponents.

A 13-1 fourth quarter run initially propelled the Orange. SU passed Minnesota for its first lead in three frames when Amaya Finklea-Guity converted a layup. Emily Engstler knocked in a layup with 3:36 left to stretch the margin to six. Then Syracuse missed five-straight shots, including a handful of botched layups, and Minnesota roared back.

(“Minnesota) did a good job of getting close to the paint,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said postgame. “Playing the rim, they were the more physical team. We knew the game could’ve been won in the paint. …That’s one thing we got to get better at.”

Four double-digit scorers — Tiana Mangakahia (11), Kiara Lewis (14), Miranda Drummond (12) and Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi (10) — carried the Orange. Mangakahia tied her season-low in points, shot 5 for 19 from the field and fouled out with 10 seconds left. Djaldi-Tabdi continued her fast-start, adding five blocks and three boards.

Guard Kenisha Bell led the Golden Gophers with 24 points on 9 for 25 shooting while playing the entire game. Taiye Bello also never subbed out, pairing 20 points with 18 rebounds. Four of Minnesota’s starters played at least 38 minutes. Hillsman called Bello the “best” rebounder he’s faced.

“I know it don’t look like but we game planned for that,” Hillsman said. “…We were going to face box-out.”

Syracuse shot one-for-six from deep in the first quarter and Minnesota opened up a 23-14 lead. While SU ran its offense and failed to execute, the Golden Gophers worked to the line and went eight of nine. The Orange cut the deficit to five at the break, thanks to 3-pointers from Gabrielle Cooper and Digna Strautmane.

Down 11 in the third quarter following a Bello free throw, Mangakahia charged down the floor and made a layup. One minute later, Mangakahia made another. A Lewis free throw late in the frame preserved the one-possession game.

SU kept shooting in the second half and kept missing. It made one of nine attempts from deep and missed five in the decisive fourth quarter. Looking for offense in the paint, Syracuse found success and tallied five offensive rebounds. But then Minnesota went back to the stripe and notched 11 more free points. A Cooper deep ball in the final seconds did nothing but keep the score competitive.

“We knew coming that into this environment that if we didn’t get to the foul line and we didn’t control the rebounding, that we didn’t have a chance to win this game,” Hillsman said. “That’s pretty much what happened.”

Syracuse returns to the Carrier Dome on Sunday to face Towson (3-3) at 2 p.m.

Published on November 29, 2018 at 11:16 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez