Behind Digna Strautmane’s big night, Syracuse won its third-straight game on Monday.

“We did a really good job of getting the ball where she could score,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said, “and she succeeded.”

Scoring 16 points and grabbing six rebounds to go along with two blocks, Strautmane led Syracuse (20-7, 8-6 Atlantic Coast) past Pittsburgh (10-17, 2-12), 62-53, in the Petersen Events Center. It’s the ninth-straight year that SU has won at least 20 games. The Orange featured a balanced attack with four players reaching double digits, despite shooting a rather dismal 33.9 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from 3. SU made up for the poor shooting by winning on the glass and getting to the free-throw line 10 more times than the Panthers.

“We just slowed the game down and did what we needed to do to win,” Hillsman said.

Strautmane, who has seen an improvement in her outside shooting of late, did most of her damage on Monday in the paint. In the span of a few minutes in the third quarter, Strautmane put up seven points via an and-1 layup, getting fouled on a layup attempt and then dropping in a nifty underhand layup from beneath the hoop.

Miranda Drummond chipped in 15 points, going 3-of-8 from behind the arc, and point guard Tiana Mangakahia tallied 14, notably going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Mangakahia played a solid all-around game, grabbing three rebounds, dishing five assists and nabbing four steals.

Coming off the bench, Isis Young helped spark SU’s offense, scoring 11 points while spelling backcourt running mates Mangakahia and shooting guard Gabrielle Cooper.

“I was really happy that we got multiple players contributing,” Hillsman said.

In lieu of poor shooting, the Orange found other ways to build an edge against the Panthers. When SU got to the free-throw line Monday, it made Pittsburgh pay. Syracuse sank 17-of-19 attempts from the stripe. The Orange also bullied Pittsburgh on the glass, out-rebounding the Panthers 40-to-34 and five more offensive boards.

“We did a good job on the defensive end,” Hillsman said, “and made our free throws in the fourth quarter and really closed the game strong.”

After Syracuse lost to then-No. 4 Louisville on Feb. 4, Hillsman stressed the importance of winning the last five games of the season to get to 10 conference wins.

He cited 10 wins as being the mark where SU could feel supremely confident about its NCAA Tournament chances. Since that game, SU has won three straight, and is on pace to win its final five games.

Hillsman said he thinks SU will win its final two games, so long as it plays tough defensively and can continue to be tough on the road when the Orange heads to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for a matchup with the Tar Heels on Thursday night.

“We’ve got to continue to do the things we’re doing well,” Hillsman said.

Published on February 19, 2018 at 10:17 pm

Contact Andrew: aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham