The Daily Orange is a nonprofit newsroom that receives no funding from Syracuse University. Consider donating today to support our mission.

Kamilla Cardoso didn’t have to move. She stuck her hands up, knowing Kiara Lewis’ miss off the glass would pop off the front rim and into her grasp. The reach of the Miami player boxing her out stopped at Cardoso’s wrists.

The 6-foot-7 center easily deposited the ball into the basket for her 12th point of the game with just under seven minutes to play in the second quarter. Following a one-shot possession for the Hurricanes on the other end, the ball found its way back to Cardoso inside. This time, she missed short but grabbed her own miss, setting up a chance at the foul line for two.

No. 20 Syracuse (4-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) controlled the paint all game against Miami (3-1, 0-1), defeating the Hurricanes 69-58 in Coral Gables, Florida. In her third start, Cardoso led the Orange with 14 points and was second in rebounds with 8, along with two steals. SU outrebounded the Hurricanes 50-42 while outscoring them 34-16 in the paint. The play inside kept the Orange ahead from start to finish, despite guard Tiana Mangakahia getting benched in the first half with six early turnovers.

“They were much tougher at the rim, much tougher in the paint,” Miami head coach Katie Meier said. “We just fell down. We were like ragdolls a couple times.”

Head coach Quentin Hillsman said Tuesday that the Orange had to do a better job of tracking down the long rebounds, the “50-50 balls” that helped Stony Brook outrebound them on Nov. 29 and kept Penn State just one behind on Sunday. Even in their 90-39 win over Lincoln University (Division II), the Orange only pulled down five more rebounds.

That wasn’t an issue on Thursday, even against a Miami team that’d averaged 15 more rebounds than its opponent in each previous game this season. Guards boxed out and hustled after errant redirections. Lewis chased down six rebounds while wing Digna Strautmane led the team with 11.

Syracuse set the tone early, jumping out to a 9-0 run on the scoreboard and a 3-0 advantage on the glass in the first 90 seconds that forced Meier to call a Miami timeout. Cardoso already had four points, and Mangakahia came out the break and drove before dishing right back to her for another easy finish.

“(Cardoso) really, she just runs the floor,” Hillsman said. “I can’t say enough about her athleticism. She gets up and down the floor and gets rim to rim.”

The give-and-go action between the two players then hit a lull, with Mangakahia wasting multiple possessions on half-court passes into multiple defenders. As SU lost sight of its inside game on the offensive end, Miami took advantage and brought the score within two points.

Still, the Orange did enough on the boards to keep the lead from getting any thinner. Though Cardoso was on the bench following her first foul, Emily Engstler maintained SU’s rebounding advantage and even pulled down her own miss twice in one possession. The redshirt junior finished with seven points and nine rebounds in the first full game she’d played since March.

Syracuse’s success inside drew extra attention from the Miami defense, opening up looks for the Orange from outside. First, it was Cardoso turning defense into offense. She blocked Miami forward Destiny Harden’s layup attempt, catching the shot with both hands before pushing it up the floor. On the other end, Strautmane was left alone on the wing where she buried the 3-pointer for her first three of nine points.

Later, it was Cardoso getting a pass inside, and instead of turning toward the basket, she kicked out to Priscilla Williams. The freshman was the beneficiary of extra room beyond the arc, and she canned the open look.

“If you’re trying to put a game plan together with the talent they have and the size they have and the shooters they have, they’re tough,” Meier said. “They’re a very, very difficult team to stop defensively.”

As Syracuse continued to grow its lead, Miami was forced to fight back with pull-up jumpers and 3-pointers, as it was virtually unable to generate much quality looks from inside the paint. The Orange deterred shots from distance as well, with Cardoso, Engstler and senior Amaya Finklea-Guity combining for five blocks total.

“That was definitely new,” Miami freshman Nyayongah Gony said, “Since I’m usually shooting over people who are 5-foot-8 at best.”

Following an eight-point halftime lead, Mangakahia entered the game again after sitting out most of the first half. She returned to form in the final 20 minutes and continued to find open looks inside for both herself and her teammates, but she left the game late in the second half with an apparent leg injury. Mangakahia tallied 14 total points and seven assists to go along with a team-high three steals.

“The more she plays, the better she’s going to be,” Hillsman said. “I’m just happy. We’re very fortunate and blessed she’s back on the court and doing what she loves to do.”

Cardoso hardly played in the second half, but SU’s veterans continued to control the glass and the game. On one occasion, it was Lewis boxing out a forward and corralling the miss. Another time, it was Finklea-Guity drawing an over-the-back call.

Redshirt junior Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi took two charges in the second half to erase multiple Miami attacks entirely. Even in the final minute of the game, the Orange pulled down three offensive rebounds on a single possession before turning the ball back over to Miami.

“Every team in our conference is tough at home, and they play well,” Hillsman said. “We came in here and just played our game, and we came out with a W.”

Published on December 10, 2020 at 10:15 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu