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With just over three minutes left in regulation, Notre Dame forward Danielle Cosgrove drove into the lane. As she began her shooting motion, she attempted to angle her release over the outstretched hands of Syracuse post Kamilla Cardoso, who was barreling toward her.

Rather than tying the game, Cosgrove’s shot deflected off the hands of SU’s 6-foot-7 freshman, preserving Syracuse’s two-point lead.

Fifth-year senior point guard Tiana Mangakahia collected the block, swung around and began the transition offense. As she and Cardoso ran downcourt, collapsing Notre Dame’s defense near the bucket, Mangakahia kicked out to Priscilla Williams for an open 3 that stretched SU’s lead to five.

After trailing for three quarters, Syracuse’s late fourth-quarter lead prevailed as the Orange (9-3, 6-3 Atlantic Coast) went on to defeat Notre Dame (8-7, 6-5) 81-69. The win was fueled by Cardoso’s nine blocks, the most by a Syracuse player since Kayla Alexander also swatted nine shots on Dec. 4, 2010 against Delaware State. Besides her defensive presence, Cardoso finished with seven rebounds and 18 points. After struggling to slow Notre Dame’s offense in the first half, Syracuse relied on Cardoso to claw back into the game and, eventually, capture the lead permanently.

“Any mistakes we made, Kamilla erased them,” head coach Quentin Hillsman said.

Cardoso made her presence felt early in the game, on a missed jumper from Emily Engstler near the free-throw line. As the rebound bounced off the backboard, Cardoso plucked it away from better-positioned Irish defenders. Then, while holding the ball above everyone else’s outstretched arms, Cardoso banked in a shot for her second basket of the game.

While the freshman wasn’t always in the best rebounding position, she used her arms to stretch from behind and over Notre Dame players. Notre Dame’s 6-foot-3 center Mikayla Vaughn and 6-foot-2 forward Sam Brunelle were assigned the task of defending and blocking out Cardoso down low. 

But more often than not, the players couldn’t compete with Cardoso within the paint.

“Kamilla, I believe, is the best post in the country, and she can catch it on the run, she can block other posts. She’s amazing,” Mangakahia said. “I think that’s what happened when I kicked it out to Priscilla for the 3 when I was penetrating. They all sagged in onto me and Kamilla, and Priscilla was wide-open.”

Cardoso first created the fast-break opportunity after her block. And after she had already scored 18 points, Notre Dame was determined to stop the center rather than the shooters. Simply by being on the court, Cardoso created opportunities for her teammates. 

After struggling to score in the first half, including a 1-17 drought from behind the arc, Syracuse began to play inside-out in the final 20 minutes. On Syracuse’s second possession of the second half, Engstler bounced a pass to Cardoso from the right corner.

Cardoso, who had used her frame to box out her defender, easily caught the pass before taking two power dribbles. Then she collected her dribble, swiveled and leapt over the outstretched hands of two Irish defenders. The referee’s whistle blew as the ball left her hands, and Cardoso strolled to the line for a couple of shots.

As Syracuse continued to whittle Notre Dame’s lead down, Cardoso began to take over in the waning minutes. 

With just over seven minutes remaining, Syracuse had an inbounds pass underneath Notre Dame’s basket. As he has done so many times this season, Hillsman directed Mangakahia to inbound. 

Teammate Tiana Mangakahia said Kamilla Cardoso is the best post in the country after Syracuse’s win on Sunday. Courtesy of Rich Barnes | USA Today Sports

With Notre Dame aware of SU’s usual inbounds play, it double-teamed Cardoso. Regardless, Mangakahia moonballed a pass high above the defenders. Cardoso jumped to retrieve the pass, landed, then banked in another basket. Even though the Irish knew the play call, they were powerless to stop it. 

Notre Dame also fouled Cardoso on the play, sending her to the free-throw line for another shot. After hitting the free throw, Cardoso’s three-point play shaved Notre Dame’s lead to just one.

But as good as Cardoso played on offense, she was even more important on the defensive side of the ball.

Hillsman switched away from his patented zone defense as the fourth quarter began to prevent open Notre Dame shooters once the Irish broke through the half-court press. While the man-to-man defense prevented open shots, it allowed Notre Dame players to drive the lane after navigating past primary defenders. 

After a scoreless stretch that lasted for a minute and a half in the fourth quarter, Irish guard Dara Mabrey broke past a defender. As she drove to the lane, Cardoso stepped up with her arms vertical. In a foreshadowing moment, Mabrey attempted to shoot over Cardoso, with Cardoso instead blocking the shot. Mangakahia swept in for her sixth rebound as Syracuse ran downcourt. After turning, Mangakahia outletted a pass to Kiara Lewis, who calmly drained a game-tying triple.

“Let them come to you because you can still block the shot,” Hillsman told Cardoso. “She did a really good job in the fourth quarter of just staying home, chasing things out of the paint, and that’s huge for us. Anytime she can do that, we’re going to have a chance to win a lot of games.”

After a 13 point first-quarter deficit, Cardoso’s nine blocks kept the Orange undefeated in the Carrier Dome. As she continued to block shots — forcing Notre Dame into difficult possessions — Syracuse continued to score.

With Cardoso down low, Syracuse ended the game on a 14-0 run. After Williams’ free throws tied the game at 69 apiece, Cardoso had a chance to take the lead for SU.

Between two defenders, Cardoso tried to bank a shot in off the glass, resulting in one of her four misses. But with both interior defenders focused on Cardoso, Mangakahia snatched the rebound. 

After taking a dribble underneath the basket, the point guard threw a behind-the-back pass into the chest of Cardoso. The freshman caught it and immediately scored for SU’s first lead in nearly 30 minutes of game play. 

Until the final few minutes, Notre Dame controlled the game. After stopping Syracuse’s perimeter shooters in the first half, and scoring at will, it seemed that first-year head coach Niele Ivey’s team would breeze through Syracuse. But with the tallest player in the conference, Syracuse rebounded  from a slow start and broke out its fast-paced offense behind Cardoso’s defensive stops.

“That’s the game. That’s why you pick up a post player like that in the paint that can block shots, change the game,” Hillsman said. “Defensively, she really changed the game down the stretch.”

Published on January 31, 2021 at 3:41 pm

Contact Thomas: tgshults@syr.edu | @ThomasShults_