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ACC Tournament recap: games four, five

By Arielle Chambers

RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 05: North Carolina State Wolfpack forward/center Nae Nae Cole (44), North Carolina State Wolfpack forward DD Rogers (21) and North Carolina State Wolfpack center Akela Maize (32) cheer on their teammates after a second half run during the game between the Miami Hurricanes and the North Carolina State Wolfpack on January 5, 2016 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, NC. Miami defeated NC State 67-64. (Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 05: North Carolina State Wolfpack forward/center Nae Nae Cole (44), North Carolina State Wolfpack forward DD Rogers (21) and North Carolina State Wolfpack center Akela Maize (32) cheer on their teammates after a second half run during the game between the Miami Hurricanes and the North Carolina State Wolfpack on January 5, 2016 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, NC. Miami defeated NC State 67-64. (Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Numbers don’t lie. Though Syracuse was slightly favored to win the game against Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech rallied their way to a final score of 85-70, in favor of the Hokies.

Syracuse led the first three quarters of the game, but Hokies responded loudly in the fourth quarter. Following a swing three from freshman Aisha Sheppard, Virginia Tech went on a 27-0 run. The run continued until 2:11 on the game clock in the fourth with a pair of successful free throws from Syracuse’s Miranda Drummond.  Virginia Tech shot 72 % from the field in the fourth quarter. Syracuse shot 0% from the field; their only points in the 10 minutes were from made free throws. The Hokies also out-rebounded the Orange 43 to 29 and that made a difference.

Virginia Tech’s keys to success came from switching their defense in the second half and simply taking good shots.  The Hokies ran a box-and-one on leading scorer Tiana Mangakahia and held her to only six points in the second half.  “You let her get in space, she’s the best point guard in the country in my opinion…[Mangakahia] is terrific, but I thought we did a tremendous job on [limiting her scoring] in the second half.” Head Coach Kenny Brooks said.

Syracuse Head Coach Quentin Hillsman took blame for his team’s loss. “I didn’t have my team prepared to play at a high level today,” he told the press.  They simply “didn’t expect to be going home today.”

Virginia Tech will advance and take on Louisville tomorrow at 2 pm ET.

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