# 2018–19 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team

The 2018–19 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team represented Syracuse University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Orange were led by twelfth year head coach Quentin Hillsman. The Orange were sixth year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and played their home games at the Carrier Dome. They finished the season 25–9, 11–5 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the ACC women's tournament, where they lost to Notre Dame. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's tournament, receiving a No. 3 seed in the Portland regional, where they defeated Fordham in the first round before being upset by South Dakota State in the second round.

## Previous season

For the 2017–18 season, the Orange finished 10–6 in ACC play and 22–9 overall. Their record achieved a tie for sixth in the ACC. Syracuse was eliminated in the second round of the ACC tournament by Virginia Tech. The Orange received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as an eight-seed, they lost in the first round to Oklahoma State.

## Off-season
### Recruiting Class

Source:
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Emily Engstler G/F | Fresh Meadows, New York | St. Francis Preparatory School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98 ||||||
| Kadiatou Sissoko G | Paris, France | Ropazu | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 98 ||||||
| Kenza Salgues G | Paris, France | INSEP Academy | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Taleah Washington PG | District Heights, Maryland | Rock Creek Christian Academy | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: 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: ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2018* 3:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 18 | North Dakota | W 85–49 | 1–0 | Carrier Dome (1,161) Syracuse, NY |
| November 10, 2018* 4:00 pm | No. 18 | at No. 3 Oregon | L 73–75 | 1–1 | Matthew Knight Arena (4,334) Eugene, OR |
| November 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 18 | vs. No. 20 Texas A&M | W 75–65 | 2–1 | Westchester County Center (211) White Plains, NY |
| November 18, 2018* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 18 | Bucknell | W 70–56 | 3–1 | Carrier Dome (1,409) Syracuse, NY |
| November 22, 2018* 1:30 pm | No. 14 | vs. Kansas State Cancún Challenge Riviera Division | W 70–61 | 4–1 | Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort Cancún, Mexico |
| November 23, 2018* 1:30 pm | No. 14 | vs. Princeton Cancún Challenge Riviera Division | W 92–61 | 5–1 | Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort Cancún, Mexico |
| November 24, 2018* 1:30 pm | No. 14 | vs. No. 16 DePaul Cancún Challenge Riviera Division | W 83–81 $^{OT}$ | 6–1 | Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort (300) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 29, 2018* 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 12 | at No. 20 Minnesota ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge | L 68–72 | 6–2 | Williams Arena (4,178) Minneapolis, MN |
| December 2, 2018* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 12 | Towson | W 98–55 | 7–2 | Carrier Dome (1,450) Syracuse, NY |
| December 5, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 15 | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 96–51 | 8–2 | Carrier Dome (1,155) Syracuse, NY |
| December 17, 2018* 11:00 am, ACCN Extra | No. 15 | Niagara | W 94–45 | 9–2 | Carrier Dome (6,093) Syracuse, NY |
| December 21, 2018* 7:30 pm | No. 15 | vs. Duquesne St. Pete Classic | W 87–71 | 10–2 | McArthur Center (264) St. Petersburg, FL |
| December 22, 2018* 7:30 pm | No. 15 | vs. UCF St. Pete Classic | W 57–52 | 11–2 | McArthur Center (204) St. Petetersburg, FL |
| ACC regular season ||||||
| January 3, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 14 | at Clemson | W 84–75 | 12–2 (1–0) | Littlejohn Coliseum (781) Clemson, SC |
| January 6, 2019 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 14 | at Virginia Tech | W 75–73 $^{OT}$ | 13–2 (2–0) | Cassell Coliseum (2,287) Blacksburg, VA |
| January 13, 2019 3:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 12 | North Carolina | W 90–77 | 14–2 (3–0) | Carrier Dome (4,982) Syracuse, NY |
| January 17, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 12 | at Pittsburgh | W 82–50 | 15–2 (4–0) | Petersen Events Center (752) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 20, 2019 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 12 | at Georgia Tech | L 55–65 | 15–3 (4–1) | McCamish Pavilion (2,106) Atlanta, GA |
| January 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 13 | Miami (FL) | L 71–84 | 15–4 (4–2) | Carrier Dome (1,332) Syracuse, NY |
| January 27, 2019 1:00 pm, RSN | No. 13 | at Duke | W 64–55 | 16–4 (5–2) | Cameron Indoor Stadium (4,004) Durham, NC |
| January 31, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 18 | Virginia | W 72–68 | 17–4 (6–2) | Carrier Dome (1,585) Syracuse, NY |
| February 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 15 | at No. 2 Louisville | L 51–76 | 17–5 (6–3) | KFC Yum! Center (8,521) Louisville, KY |
| February 10, 2019 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 15 | Boston College | W 96–69 | 18–5 (7–3) | Carrier Dome (2,730) Syracuse, NY |
| February 13, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 16 | No. 12 NC State | L 73–77 | 18–6 (7–4) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| February 17, 2019 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 16 | Wake Forest | W 77–57 | 19–6 (8–4) | Carrier Dome (2,579) Syracuse, NY |
| February 21, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 18 | Pittsburgh | W 90–63 | 20–6 (9–4) | Carrier Dome (1,585) Syracuse, NY |
| February 25, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | No. 4 Notre Dame | L 68–98 | 20–7 (9–5) | Carrier Dome (7,556) Syracuse, NY |
| February 28, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 17 | at No. 22 Florida State | W 94–88 | 21–7 (10–5) | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,732) Tallahassee, FL |
| March 3, 2019 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 17 | at Boston College | W 76–59 | 22–7 (11–5) | Conte Forum (2,245) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| ACC Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2019 11:00 am, RSN | (5) No. 18 | vs. (12) Virginia Second Round | W 67–57 | 23–7 | Greensboro Coliseum (6,522) Greensboro, NC |
| March 8, 2019 11:00 am, RSN | (5) No. 18 | vs. (4) Miami (FL) Quarterfinals | W 92–85 | 24–7 | Greensboro Coliseum (8,121) Greensboro, NC |
| March 9, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPNU | (5) No. 18 | vs. (1) No. 4 Notre Dame Semifinals | L 66–91 | 24–8 | Greensboro Coliseum (6,943) Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 23, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | (3 P) No. 12 | (14 P) Fordham First Round | W 70–49 | 25–8 | Carrier Dome (2,785) Syracuse, NY |
| March 25, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN | (3 P) No. 12 | (6 P) South Dakota State Second Round | L 64–75 | 25–9 | Carrier Dome (2,474) Syracuse, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. P=Portland. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Rankings

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.