# 2021–22 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team

The 2021–22 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team represented Syracuse University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Orange were led by interim head coach Vonn Read. The Orange are ninth year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference and played their home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.
Previous head coach Quentin Hillsman resigned amid investigations into allegations of inappropriate behavior on August 2, 2021. Associate head coach Vonn Read was named the interim head coach for the 2021–2022 season on August 4, 2021.
The Orange finished the season 11–18 overall and 4–14 in ACC play to finish in a tie for eleventh place. As the twelfth seed in the ACC tournament, they lost to Clemson in their First Round matchup. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the WNIT.

## Previous season

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.

## Off-season
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Taleah Washington | 1 | G | 5'7" | Sophomore | District Heights, Maryland | Transferred to Old Dominion |
| Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi | 3 | F | 6'2" | Junior | Paris, France | Transferred to Miami (FL) |
| Tiana Mangakahia | 4 | G | 5'6" | Graduate Student | Meadowbrook, Queensland | Graduated |
| Khamya McNeal | 11 | G | 5'8" | Freshman | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Transferred to Stetson |
| Faith Blackstone | 12 | G | 6'0" | Freshman | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | Transferred to North Carolina A&T |
| Maud Huijbens | 13 | F | 6'5" | Freshman | Hilversum, Netherlands | Transferred to Gonzaga |
| Kamilla Cardoso | 14 | C | 6'7" | Freshman | Montes Claros, Brazil | Transferred to South Carolina |
| Kiara Fisher | 15 | G | 5'7" | Freshman | Elmira, New York | Transferred to Marist |
| Emily Engstler | 21 | G | 6'0" | Junior | Fresh Meadows, New York | Transferred to Louisville |
| Amaya Finklea-Guity | 22 | C | 6'4" | Senior | Dorchester, Massachusetts | Transferred to Duke |
| Kiara Lewis | 23 | G | 5'8" | Senior | Chicago, Illinois | Transferred to Clemson |
| Lauren Fitzmaurice | 25 | G | 5'8" | Senior | Mazama, Washington | Transferred to Marist |
| Digna Strautmane | 45 | F | 6'2" | Senior | Riga, Latvia | Transferred to Georgia Tech |

### Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Alaysia Styles | 4 | F | 6'3" | Graduate Student | San Diego, California | Maryland |
| Najé Murray | 10 | G | 5'6" | Graduate Student | Stockton, California | Texas Tech |
| Jayla Thornton | 11 | G | 5'10" | Graduate Student | Newark, New Jersey | Howard |
| Eboni Walker | 22 | F | 6'0" | Junior | Las Vegas, Nevada | Arizona State |
| Alaina Rice | 25 | G | 5'8" | Junior | Rockledge, Florida | Auburn |
| Chrislyn Carr | 32 | G | 5'5" | Senior | Davenport, Iowa | Texas Tech |
| Christianna Carr | 43 | G | 6'1" | Senior | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | Kansas State |

### Recruiting class

Source:
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Nyah Wilson G | Dallas, Texas | Duncanville High School | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | N/A | Apr 18, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| 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

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 10, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Monmouth | W 87–46 | 1–0 | Carrier Dome (1,008) Syracuse, NY |
| November 14, 2021 Noon, ACCN | | Notre Dame | L 56–82 | 1–1 (0–1) | Carrier Dome (3,345) Syracuse, NY |
| November 17, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Morgan State | W 79–60 | 2–1 | Carrier Dome (825) Syracuse, NY |
| November 20, 2021* 2:30 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. No. 23 South Florida Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | L 53–77 | 2–2 | Imperial Arena (993) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 21, 2021* 5:00 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Minnesota Battle 4 Atlantis | L 63–70 | 2–3 | Imperial Arena (420) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 22, 2021* 2:00 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Buffalo Battle 4 Atlantis | L 79–88 | 2–4 | Imperial Arena (329) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 28, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Colgate | W 79–57 | 3–4 | Carrier Dome (918) Syracuse, NY |
| December 1, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 18т Ohio State ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge | W 97–91 | 4–4 | Carrier Dome (847) Syracuse, NY |
| December 5, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Central Connecticut State | W 116–65 | 5–4 | Carrier Dome (907) Syracuse, NY |
| December 8, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Cornell | W 85–55 | 6–4 | Carrier Dome (801) Syracuse, NY |
| December 11, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Clemson | W 86–46 | 7–4 (1–1) | Carrier Dome (1,009) Syracuse, NY |
| December 18, 2021* 11:00 a.m., ACCNX | | UMBC | W 82–50 | 8–4 | Carrier Dome (915) Syracuse, NY |
| December 22, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Siena | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Canceled due to COVID-19 issues | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| December 30, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 24 North Carolina | L 43–79 | 8–5 (1–2) | Carmichael Arena (1,625) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 2, 2022 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Florida State | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Postponed due to COVID-19 issues | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| January 6, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Boston College | L 71–95 | 8–6 (1–3) | Conte Forum (424) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| January 9, 2022 2:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | No. 17 Duke | L 65–74 | 8–7 (1–4) | Carrier Dome (1,133) Syracuse, NY |
| January 13, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at No. 3 Louisville | L 71–84 | 8–8 (1–5) | KFC Yum! Center (7,307) Louisville, KY |
| January 16, 2022 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Virginia | Postponed due to inclement weather | Postponed due to inclement weather | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA |
| January 20, 2022 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 18 Georgia Tech | L 55–65 | 8–9 (1–6) | Carrier Dome (746) Syracuse, NY |
| January 27, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 20 Notre Dame | L 62–83 | 8–10 (1–7) | Purcell Pavilion (4,493) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 30, 2022 Noon, ACCN | | Pittsburgh | W 80–72 | 9–10 (2–7) | Carrier Dome (1,056) Syracuse, NY |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Miami (FL) | L 65–71 | 9–11 (2–8) | Watsco Center Coral Gables, FL |
| February 6, 2022 Noon, ACCRSN | | No. 4 Louisville | L 64–100 | 9–12 (2–9) | Carrier Dome (1,401) Syracuse, NY |
| February 8, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Virginia Rescheduled from Jan. 16, 2022 | W 77–70 | 10–12 (3–9) | John Paul Jones Arena (1,556) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 13, 2022 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | W 67–65 | 11–12 (4–9) | Peterson Events Center (2,073) Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 15, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Florida State Rescheduled from Jan 2, 2022 | L 67–73 | 11–13 (4–10) | Carrier Dome (881) Syracuse, NY |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 23 Virginia Tech | L 53–102 | 11–14 (4–11) | Carrier Dome (801) Syracuse, NY |
| February 20, 2022 2:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at No. 4 NC State | L 35–95 | 11–15 (4–12) | Reynolds Coliseum (5,500) Raleigh, NC |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Wake Forest | L 60–76 | 11–16 (4–13) | LJVM Coliseum (1,997) Winston–Salem, NC |
| February 27, 2022 Noon, ACCN | | Boston College | L 75–91 | 11–17 (4–14) | Carrier Dome (1,214) Syracuse, NY |
| ACC Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 2, 2022 1:00 p.m., ACCRSN | (12) | vs. (13) Clemson First Round | L 69–88 | 11–18 | Greensboro Coliseum (3,619) Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked in previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
| (NR) | Not Ranked |
Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll and AP does not release a poll after the NCAA tournament.