Just 3:16 into the second half, Syracuse started a fast break off a missed free throw.

Point guard Tiana Mangakahia hustled up the court, scanning her options. She locked on to Miranda Drummond on the wing and flung a pass to her. Drummond caught the ball, jump-stopped and shot from behind the arc.

The ball dropped through the net and the crowd cheered louder than it had all night as Drummond’s 3 gave Syracuse a double-digit lead. Those were Drummond’s final three points of the night, but her 19 points and eight rebounds on 55.6 percent shooting was plenty for Syracuse (2-0) to outlast Maryland Eastern Shore, 68-45, Thursday night in the Carrier Dome. After a 12-point outing in her first-ever game for Syracuse nearly a week ago, Drummond led the Orange to a win.

“She’s just a good player,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said, “and when you’ve got a good player that can play a lot of minutes for you and get opportunities and take advantage of them, you’re going to have a chance to be successful.”

Drummond scored the first three points of the game for Syracuse, all from the free throw line. She didn’t score for the next six minutes and 54 seconds, grabbing three rebounds — all defensive — and missing three 3-pointers.

The next time she scored, it was a pair of free throws with 1:16 left in the first quarter. Just 20 seconds later, off a missed Hawks 3, Drummond dropped in a fast break layup for her first field goal of the night to give Syracuse a 12-10 lead.

“I started getting a rhythm,” Drummond said. “If I see a shot go down, it definitely helps with the next one.”

Drummond’s first bucket of the second quarter came much like her last of the first. Mangakahia slipped a ball to Drummond on the fast-break, and she made the basket through contact before completing the three-point play that put SU up, 27-15, with 5:05 until halftime.

After the break, Syracuse came out shooting.

On its first possession of the half, freshman Digna Strautmane missed a 3, but Drummond tracked down the rebound. About a minute later, Gabrielle Cooper hit a 3. Then, Drummond joined the action.

Freshman Amaya Finklea-Guity hauled in a rebound and dished an outlet to Mangakahia. Flying up the court, Mangakahia linked up with Drummond, who shot from behind the arc and put Syracuse up by nine, 40-31, just 2:07 into the second half.

“Miranda’s open a lot,” Mangakahia said, “and that helps me push the ball.”

Minutes later, Drummond splashed her second 3 in less than a minute and a half to give Syracuse a 43-33 lead. While the bench celebrated Syracuse’s early-half flurry, Drummond had already turned back and found her mark to set up the press.

Drummond didn’t score again, but she didn’t have to. She hauled in two more rebounds to bring her total to eight, while Mangakahia took over the role of scorer, adding nine points in the final 15 minutes.

On a night where Syracuse as a team shot just 38.7 percent from the field and a shade less than 25 percent from deep, Drummond played with efficiency. She topped 55 percent from the field and shot nearly 43 percent from 3. She also took care of the ball, only committing four of SU’s 25 turnovers. Three of her giveaways happened in traffic seconds after a rebound or steal.

“She’s been very consistent for us,” Hillsman said of Drummond. “She’s doing what we thought she would do.”

With Syracuse’s leading scorer from game one, Strautmane, forced to spend much of the evening on the bench due to foul trouble and Mangakahia struggling to hang on to the ball — she had eight turnovers — Drummond did everything Syracuse needed her to do.

“I’m trying to do whatever I can,” Drummond said.

Published on November 16, 2017 at 10:37 pm

Contact Andrew: aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham