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Less than one minute into the second half, point guard Tiana Mangakahia drove toward the basket on a fast-break. Instead of attempting a lay-up, the fifth-year senior dumped a pass off to Kamilla Cardoso. The 6-foot-7 freshman easily laid in a shot off the glass to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 30-24.

Mangakahia dribbled from the top of the key down to the Panthers baseline on the next Syracuse possession. As defenders honed in on the point guard, Mangakahia underhanded a pass to Cardoso for another easy bank shot. Then, seconds later, Mangakahia dribbled up court before handing the ball to Kiara Lewis on the left wing.

Lewis, standing a few feet behind the arc, never dribbled as she stared straight at the basket. As she squared her body to face the rim, fired and sank a triple which cut Pittsburgh’s lead to one. Finally, the Panthers called a timeout.

After scoring just six points in the first quarter — the lowest a Syracuse team has scored in a quarter since Dec. 22, 2017 when SU scored just four against UNLV in the fourth quarter — the Orange relied on Lewis and Cardoso. After switching offensive strategies, Syracuse (11-4, 8-4 Atlantic Coast) won in a late-game 71-67 comeback victory over Pittsburgh (4-7, 2-6). 

Cardoso often received entry passes in the post, and either scored on a shot off the glass or was fouled. Meanwhile, Lewis converted on 10 free throws and strode through the Panthers defense often.

“You got to pick your poison with them,” Pittsburgh head coach Lance White said. “Whenever the game, crunch time comes, players make plays, and Kiara, I thought, made some huge ones. Got to the free throw line that really broke our back.”

Beginning in the second quarter, head coach Quentin Hillsman’s squad began to lob passes to Cardoso in the paint, rather than shoot jump shots from behind the arc. Eventually, the freshman finished with 22 points and eight rebounds. Lewis equaled Cardoso’s scoring with 22 points of her own. 

Syracuse continued to chip into Pitt’s lead in the third quarter after the Panthers led by as much as 15 in the first half. With under a minute remaining in the third quarter, Lewis took a pass from Mangakahia at the top of the key and took one dribble inside the arc. 

With her defender backpedaling on her heels, the senior guard rose and nailed a long-range jumper to tie the score at 47. After Pitt was unable to convert on its next possession, Syracuse had a chance to take the lead with 11 seconds left in the quarter.

SU inbounded to Lewis and she dribbled all the way down court and drove to the hoop. While she couldn’t convert the layup, Lewis was fouled, and nailed two of her 12 foul shots in the game, with three seconds left in the quarter. After the free throws, Syracuse regained the lead for the first time since leading 5-4 in the opening minutes. 

Kamilla Cardoso totaled 22 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes played. Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

“I thought that Kiki did a great job for us down the stretch when she scored the ball,” Hillsman said. “And was really really impressive downhill.”

“Downhill” was where Lewis thrived on Sunday. While she hit long-range two-pointers along with a couple of 3s, most of her scoring came from drives to the hoop. Whether she converted on layups, or from the foul line, Pitt had trouble containing SU’s shooting guard.

Eventually Lewis’ constant attack on the rim forced Pitt defenders into foul trouble. In the waning seconds, Pittsburgh star Dayshanette Harris fouled out. Guard Jayla Everett and post Cynthia Ezeja also struggled with foul trouble, finishing with four fouls apiece. 

And when Lewis wasn’t in possession of the ball, Cardoso was. With SU leading by five with just six minutes remaining, Cardoso collected an entry pass from Mangakahia. With Ezeja defending, Cardoso took two power dribbles to her right before pivoting, turning and shooting a post-move bank shot.

Even though the shot didn’t fall through the hoop, Cardoso was fouled. The 56% free throw shooter strode to the line and knocked down one of her eight made free throws. 

“Today she made her free throws, that was so huge when they fouled her,” Hillsman said of Cardoso. “She just really put the ball in the basket.”

Eventually, Cardoso finished shooting 8-11 from the charity stripe. Combined, Syracuse scored 18 points from the free throw line off of Lewis and Cardoso foul shots. 

With just over four minutes remaining in the game, Cardoso received another entry pass with her back to the basket. After she turned and shot, the ball bounced off the backboard and into the hands of teammate Emily Engstler. The forward then tried a shot of her own. 

With Pittsburgh defenders swarming, Engstler’s shot bounced harmlessly off the rim. But Cardoso was waiting, corralling one of her five offensive rebounds. As she went up for a third Syracuse shot, she was fouled. 

Again Cardoso walked to the line and hit one of two shots.

With the game continually close in the second half, Lewis and Cardoso managed to keep it out of reach. With just over three minutes left, Lewis commanded the attention of two defenders and found Mangakahia for a wide open three — her only made field goal. Then on SU’s next two possessions, Lewis was fouled twice, hitting all four free throws. 

“My teammates expect me to, you know, pressure the ball well, keep (Syracuse’s guards) from doing anything they want,” Pitt guard Gabbie Green said. “And I was prepared. I did the best I could do.”

On Sunday, Pitt’s best was good enough for 20 minutes. But once the final buzzer sounded, Syracuse left with yet another victory over the Panthers, behind 44 combined points from Lewis and Cardoso.

Published on February 7, 2021 at 6:32 pm

Contact Thomas: tgshults@syr.edu | @ThomasShults_