BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech women's basketball team erased an early 12-point deficit and briefly held the lead in the second half Sunday afternoon, before falling in overtime to No. 14 Syracuse. Taylor Emery scored 27 points in the game and had the ball in her hands in the final seconds, but was unable to get a shot off as time expired, as Tech moved to 13-2 on the season and 0-2 in league play.
(1/6/2019) 2019 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ACC HOME OPENER
Syracuse, the nation's 14th-rankled squad (13-2, 2-0) was led by All-ACC point guard Tiana Mangakahia who scored 27 points, including 10 of 12 from the free throw line. She also had nine assists and pulled down six rebounds as the Orange, snapped a two-game skid against the Hokies.
The Orange started quickly, using an 18-5 run to close out the first quarter with a 12-point advantage, capitalizing on turnovers all afternoon. Syracuse's patented full court press and 2-3 half court zone forced 24 turnovers from the Hokies, a season high.
But the Hokies were resilient as they have been all season, putting together small runs to chip away at the deficit. Rachel Camp took the ball the length of the floor to close out the first half and laid in a contested bank shot to close the gap to just three heading into the locker room.
Managakhia and the Orange would maintain their advantage until the final minute of the third frame when Emery's old fashioned 3-point play gave the Hokies their first lead since it was 7-5.
🎥Highlights from today's thriller at Cassell
— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) January 6, 2019
• Emery leads the Hokies with 27 points
• Magarity records 11th double-double of the season
• Aisha Sheppard knocks down 4 3-pointers on the afternoon pic.twitter.com/11DZs8ZhC6
Again it was Emery making a big shot in the final seconds of regulation with Tech down two points, she gained possession in her own half and dribbled the length of the floor and tied the game with a running layup with 7 ticks lefts on the clock.
She would open up the overtime period with a 3-pointer, one of her three on the day, but was held scoreless for the remaining 4:43 as 'Cuse did just enough to hold on to a 75-73 victory.
Syracuse was able to take advantage of their defense, scoring 28 points off of turnovers and outscoring the Hokies in transition 22-4.
Tech's defense was solid I n their own right, holding Syracuse to their lowest percentage from behind the arc of the season (21 percent, 6 of 28).
Other key notes:
• Forward Regan Magarity was honored pregame for recording 1,000 rebounds, becoming the first player in Tech history to do so. The redshirt senior pulled down another 10 Sunday, bringing her career tally to 1,064. She ranks seventh amongst active players in D1 and leads the conference at 13.3 rebounds per game.
Magarity collected her 11thdouble-double of the season, scoring 18 points.
Prior to tipoff we honored Regan Magarity for reaching 1,000 rebounds earlier this season
— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) January 6, 2019
She is the first player in program history to reach that mark#Hokies🦃pic.twitter.com/JaeDbtWCD4
• The Hokies got to the free throw line just five times on Sunday, while Syracuse had 25 attempts. Through two ACC games, Tech has been outshot at the line 48-11.
NEXT GAME: The Hokies will once again be on the road, playing at rival Virginia on Thursday, Jan. 10. Tipoff from John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m., with coverage available through ACC Network Extra.