2020–21 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team

2020–21 Syracuse Orange women's basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record15–9 (9–7 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Vonn Read
  • John Marcum
  • Cedric Solice
Home arenaCarrier Dome
Seasons
2020–21 ACC women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 8 Louisville 14 – 2   .875 26 – 4   .867
No. 3 NC State† 12 – 2   .857 22 – 3   .880
Georgia Tech 12 – 6   .667 17 – 9   .654
Syracuse 9 – 7   .563 15 – 9   .625
Florida State 9 – 7   .563 10 – 9   .526
Notre Dame 8 – 7   .533 10 – 10   .500
Virginia Tech 8 – 8   .500 15 – 10   .600
North Carolina 8 – 9   .471 13 – 11   .542
Miami (FL) 8 – 10   .444 11 – 11   .500
Wake Forest 8 – 10   .444 12 – 13   .480
Clemson 5 – 12   .294 12 – 14   .462
Pittsburgh 3 – 12   .200 5 – 14   .263
Boston College 2 – 11   .154 7 – 12   .368
Duke 0 – 1   .000 3 – 1   .750
Virginia 0 – 2   .000 0 – 5   .000
Duke suspended their season on December 25, 2020
Virginia suspended their season on January 14, 2021
† 2021 ACC tournament winner
As of March 30, 2021
Rankings from AP poll

The 2020–21 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team represented Syracuse University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Orange were led by fifteenth year head coach Quentin Hillsman. The Orange were eighth year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and played their home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.

The Orange finished the season 15–9 and 9–7 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the fifth seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated to Boston College in the Second Round and Florida State in the Quarterfinals before losing to Louisville in the Semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they were the eight seed in the Riverwalk Regional. In the tournament they defeated nine seed South Dakota State in the First Round before losing to one seed UConn to end their season.

Previous season

For the 2019–20 season, the Orange finished 16–15 overall record and a 9–9 in record ACC play securing an eighth-place finish. As the eighth seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated Virginia in the Second Round before losing to Louisville in Quarterfinals. The NCAA tournament and WNIT were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.[1]

Off-season

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Elemy Colomé 0 G 5'8" Graduate Student Lawrence, MA Graduated[2]
Whisper Fisher 2 F 6'2" Graduate Student Owings Mills, MD Graduated[3]
Alisha Lewis 10 G 5'7" Freshman Wallingford, PA Transferred to UCF[4]
Gabrielle Cooper 11 G 5'10" Senior Lansing, IL Graduated[5]
Brooke Alexander 12 G 6'0" Graduate Student Frisco, TX Graduated

Recruiting Class

Source:[6]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kamilla Cardoso
C 		Montes Claros, Brazil Hamilton Heights Christian Academy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 98
Priscilla Williams
G 		Branson, MO Branson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 98
Faith Blackstone
G 		Harrisburg, PA Hillside 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 94
Maud Huijbens
F 		Hilversum, Netherlands Hilversum 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 90
Khamya McNeal
G 		Milwaukee, WI Rufus King 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 90
Laura Salmeron
PG 		Spain N/A 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 90
Kiara Fisher
PG 		Elmira, NY Elmira 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) N/A  
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 89
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2020–21 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Ava Irvin 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Greater Atlanta Christian School Atlanta, GA
G 1 Taleah Washington 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) So Rock Creek Christian Academy District Heights, MD
G 2 Priscilla Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Branson Branson, MO
F 3 Maeva Djaldi–Tabdi 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS Jr Jean Moulin Paris, France
G 4 Tiana Mangakahia 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) GS Lake Ginninderra Meadowbrook, QLD, Australia
G 5 Teisha Hyman 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Woodlands White Plains, NY
G 11 Khamya McNeal 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Rufus King Milwaukee, WI
G 12 Faith Blackstone 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Hillside Harrisburg, PA
F 13 Maud Huijbens 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Fr Hilversum Hilversum, Netherlands
C 14 Kamilla Cardoso 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Fr Hamilton Heights Christian Academy Montes Claros, Brazil
G 15 Kiara Fisher 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Fr Elmira Elmira, NY
G 21 Emily Engstler 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr St. Francis Prep Fresh Meadows, NY
C 22 Amaya Finklea–Guity 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Sr Noble & Greenough Dorchester, MA
G 23 Kiara Lewis 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS Sr Whitney Young Chicago, IL
G 25 Lauren Fitzmaurice 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Liberty Bell Mazama, WA
F 45 Digna Strautmane 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Riga 66 Riga, Latvia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 8, 2020

Schedule

Source:[7]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
November 29, 2020*
2:00 p.m. 		No. 23 Stony Brook W 50–39  1–0
 Island Federal Credit Union Arena (0)
Stony Brook, NY
December 2, 2020*
6:00 p.m. 		No. 22 Lincoln W 90–39  2–0
 Carrier Dome (0)
Syracuse, NY
December 6, 2020*
2:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 22 Penn State W 82–72  3–0
 Carrier Dome (0)
Syracuse, NY
December 10, 2020
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 20 at Miami (FL) W 69–58  4–0
(1–0) 		Watsco Center (0)
Coral Gables, FL
December 17, 2020
6:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 18 at North Carolina L 68–92  4–1
(1–1) 		Carmichael Arena (0)
Chapel Hill, NC
December 20, 2020
2:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 18 at Boston College W 83–70  5–1
(2–1) 		Conte Forum (0)
Chestnut Hill, MA
December 28, 2020*
7:00 p.m., ACCNN 		No. 22 Morgan State Canceled [8] Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, NY
December 31, 2020
2:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 22 North Carolina Postponed [9] Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, NY
January 7, 2021
6:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 24 Virginia Postponed [10] Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, NY
January 10, 2021
2:00 p.m., ESPNU 		No. 24 Notre Dame Postponed[11] Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, NY
January 14, 2021
2:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 24 at Georgia Tech Postponed[12] McCamish Pavilion 
Atlanta, GA
January 17, 2021
Noon, RSN 		No. 24 Miami (FL) W 99–64  6–1
(3–1) 		Carrier Dome (0)
Syracuse, NY
January 19, 2021
Noon, ACCN 		No. 23 North Carolina W 88–76  7–1
(4–1) 		Carrier Dome (0)
Syracuse, NY
January 21, 2021
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 23 at Duke Canceled [13] Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, NC
January 21, 2021
9:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 23 at No. 1 Louisville L 54–67  7–2
(4–2) 		KFC Yum! Center (2,643)
Louisville, KY
January 24, 2021
Noon, ACCN 		No. 23 at Clemson L 77–86 OT 7–3
(4–3) 		Littlejohn Coliseum (421)
Clemson, SC
January 28, 2021
6:00 p.m., ACCNX 		Pittsburgh W 80–57  8–3
(5–3) 		Carrier Dome (0)
Syracuse, NY
January 31, 2021
11:00 a.m., ACCN 		Notre Dame W 81–69  9–3
(6–3) 		Carrier Dome (0)
Syracuse, NY
February 2, 2021
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		at Georgia Tech L 63–76  9–4
(6–4) 		McCamish Pavilion (1,200)
Atlanta, GA
February 4, 2021
6:00 p.m., ACCN 		Wake Forest W 85–78  10–4
(7–4) 		Carrier Dome (0)
Syracuse, NY
February 7, 2021
2:00 p.m., RSN 		at Pittsburgh W 71–67  11–4
(8–4) 		Petersen Events Center (500)
Pittsburgh, PA
February 11, 2021
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		at Florida State L 52–67  11–5
(8–5) 		Donald L. Tucker Center (1,156)
Tallahassee, FL
February 14, 2021
1:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 3 Louisville Postponed[14] Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, NY
February 18, 2021
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		at Notre Dame Postponed[15] Purcell Pavilion 
Notre Dame, IN
February 21, 2021
Noon, RSN 		at Virginia Tech L 68–76  11–6
(8–6) 		Cassell Coliseum (250)
Blacksburg, VA
February 25, 2021
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		Boston College W 92–75  12–6
(9–6) 		Carrier Dome (0)
Syracuse, NY
February 28, 2021
Noon, ACCN 		No. 2 NC State L 61–68  12–7
(9–7) 		Carrier Dome (0)
Syracuse, NY
ACC Women's Tournament
March 4, 2021
2:30 p.m., RSN 		(5) vs. (13) Boston College
Second Round 		W 67–61  13–7
 Greensboro Coliseum (609)
Greensboro, NC
March 5, 2021
2:30 p.m., RSN 		(5) vs. (4) Florida State
Quarterfinals 		W 68–67  14–7
 Greensboro Coliseum (592)
Greensboro, NC
March 6, 2021
Noon, ACCN 		(5) vs. (1) No. 5 Louisville
Semifinals 		L 59–72  14–8
 Greensboro Coliseum (1,122)
Greensboro, NC
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2021
5:30 p.m., ESPN2 		(8 R) vs. (9 R) South Dakota State
First Round 		W 72–55  15–8
 Frank Erwin Center 
Austin, TX
March 23, 2021
9:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(8 R) vs. (1 R) No. 1 UConn
First Round 		L 47–83  15–9
 Alamodome 
San Antonio, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
R=Riverwalk.
All times are in Eastern.

Rankings

Main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Regular Season Polls
Poll Pre-
Season		 Week
2		 Week
3		 Week
4		 Week
5		 Week
6		 Week
7		 Week
8		 Week
9		 Week
10		 Week
11		 Week
12		 Week
13		 Week
14		 Week
15		 Week
16		 Week
17		 Week
18		 Week
19		 Final
AP 23 22 20 18 22 22 24 24 23 RV RV RV N/A
Coaches 21 18 16 20т 20 20 21 20 RV RV RV
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
(RV)   Received Votes

The Coaches Poll releases a final poll after the NCAA tournament, but the AP Poll does not release a poll at this time.

See also

References

  1. ^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". Archived from the original on March 12, 2020.
  2. ^ Emerman, Danny (November 4, 2019). "GROWING UP: At Syracuse, graduate transfer Elemy Colome has a final chance to prove her maturity". The Daily Orange. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  3. ^ Herman, Jason (July 9, 2020). "Pro Orange: Whisper Fisher Signs with Clube Galitos Aveiro". SU Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "UCF Adds Syracuse Transfer Alisha Lewis". UCF Athletics (Press release). June 11, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "Pro Orange: Gabrielle Cooper Makes Professional Debut". SU Athletics. January 27, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "Syracuse Orange". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "2020-21 Women's Basketball Schedule". cuse.com. Syracuse University. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "Women's Basketball Game vs. Morgan State Canceled". cuse.com. Syracuse University Athletics. December 27, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "ACC Women's Basketball Announces Schedule Changes". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  10. ^ "Women's Basketball Game vs. Virginia Postponed". cuse.com. Syracuse Athletics. January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  11. ^ "ACC Women's Basketball Announces Schedule Changes". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  12. ^ "ACC Women's Basketball Announces Schedule Changes". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  13. ^ "Duke Blue Devils end women's basketball season amid coronavirus concerns". espn.com. ESPN. December 25, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  14. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Basketball Postponements". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "ACC Women's Basketball Announces Schedule Changes". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.