Quentin Hillsman has aimed all season for Syracuse to shoot 30 3-point attempts each game. On Thursday, the Orange surpassed that, attempting 43.

But the recipe that SU so often uses to win didn’t work against Virginia Tech in a low-scoring loss.

Syracuse (17-6, 5-5 Atlantic Coast) shot its lowest percentage of the season (30.8) in its 73-64 loss to Virginia Tech (15-8, 4-6) in the Carrier Dome on Thursday night. It was SU’s first home loss this season after rattling off 11-straight wins in the Dome. The Orange made 1-for-18 from 3-point range in the first half and finished the game 8-for-43 from distance. Syracuse’s second-leading scorer on the season, Miranda Drummond, didn’t score until draining a 3 with 1:29 left in the game.

“We get a lot of energy from making 3s,” SU guard Isis Young said. “So when we’re not making them, we gotta find energy from somewhere else. And sometimes it’s a little tough in the middle of the game because we’re used to playing the way we’re playing.”

Syracuse got off to a fast start, not foretelling of things to come. Tiana Mangakahia dribbled left for a stepback two from the left elbow for the first points of the game. Then the point guard stole the ball and used a nifty step through move to get to the front of the rim and lay the ball in. She hit two free throws shortly after and SU led, 6-0.

But late in the quarter, the Orange went cold and didn’t score for 4:10. By the end of one quarter, Syracuse led in a low-scoring frame, 12-10, unusual for two teams that entered scoring more 70 points per game.

By the second quarter’s first few minutes, it was clear Mangakahia wasn’t going to stop shooting, at least in the first half. She missed all four of her 3-point attempts in the frame. Around the misses, Mangakahia scored a few baskets, but she also misfired a stepback 3 along with missing a 3 from the right wing preceded by three right-footed jab steps.

“It was just shots not falling,” Mangakahia said. “I don’t think I was contested much, I think most of my shots I took were open, it just wasn’t my night.”

The Hokies threatened to pull away in the second but Mangakahia, the country’s assist leader, got back to passing and set up Digna Strautmane. Twice, she found the 6-foot-2 freshman cutting to the basket for easy right-handed buckets. The Orange closed the half on a 7-0 run to enter the break tied up.

“You got a tie game at halftime, you’re 1-for-18 (from 3),” Hillsman said, “figure you come out and make some shots and be in good shape.”

At first glance, SU kept the momentum going into the second half with the third quarter’s first five points. But a strong Taylor Emery bucket inside, followed by a Mangakahia turnover and two Hokies 3s put Virginia Tech back in the lead.

“It’s my responsibility,” Hillsman said. “Our players should take zero percent of this loss … It’s about me putting our players in better position to score. I gotta do a better job of getting us into our defense.”

Strautmane did her best to keep SU in the contest. Early in the third, she hit a 3 and drew a charge. But then Strautmane missed a 3 and midrange jumper on back-to-back possessions as Hillsman repeatedly yelled, “Attack the rim!”

The next trip, she did attack with a left-handed up and under move but missed again.

The fourth quarter opened with another Strautmane miss as she stepped back and hit the front of the rim on a pull up. Mangakahia found herself free in the lane on the next trip and hit the back of the rim. Cooper bricked an open 3 from the top of the arc. A Hokies bucket soon made the deficit eight points.

“I didn’t do a good enough job of conveying what we needed to do on the defensive end,” Hillsman said.

Hillsman’s frustration boiled over about three minutes into the fourth when Strautmane hesitated after a catch before eventually being fouled. He screamed at his freshman forward to shoot the ball.

Still, Syracuse put up a fight late. Drummond hit two 3s in the final minute and a half, but Mangakahia threw the ball to VT’s Chanette Hicks with under 50 seconds remaining. Hicks took the ball down the floor for an easy layup.

With fewer than 10 seconds left, when Syracuse had to foul Virginia Tech to prolong the game, everyone on the Hokies’ bench stood and clapped. The back-and-forth game was finally well in hand for the road team.

“I don’t know if (struggling in conference play) is good for us,” Mangakahia said. “But it can help us.”

Published on February 1, 2018 at 9:18 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3