STONY BROOK, N.Y. — The Stony Brook women's basketball team defeated Pittsburgh one year ago on the Panthers' homecourt.

Facing another ACC member on Sunday, the Seawolves came up narrowly short.

No. 23 Syracuse defeated Stony Brook, 50-39, at Island Federal Arena.

The Seawolves had been bidding for their first win against a ranked opponent since Dec. 17, 2005 — a 58-56 victory against No. 19 Temple.

"What we liked is that we held Syracuse to 50 points," Stony Brook coach Caroline McCombs said. "They're a really good team. They have a lot of weapons offensively. I know how good our defense could be, especially if we rebound the ball."

Stony Brook (0-2) never led in Sunday's contest, but clawed within 27-24 on a fastbreak layup from Anastasia Warren early in the third quarter after trailing by as many as 10 points before intermission.

The Orange, however, responded with a 7-0 run.

Point guard Asiah Dingle started for the Seawolves in what undoubtedly was an emotional game. Dingle's father, Maurice "Mo" Dingle, passed away Wednesday. 

McCombs intended to escort Dingle to be with her family in Boston after Sunday's game.

"For Asiah to be able to stay here and play was something she wanted to do," McCombs said. "She knows her team and coaches love her and were here for her. This is going to be something that doesn't ever go away. She was as locked in and focused as anyone was, or could be, at this time."

Dingle picked up a disputed fourth foul and was forced to the bench for seven minutes beginning late in the third quarter.

Warren also picked up her fourth foul and departed with 6:30 left in the game.

Nairimar Vargas-Reyes contributed a team-high 11 points.

Teammate Jonae Cox made her first start since Jan. 27, 2019.

The Seawolves shot 3-for-24 from three-point range and 10-for-20 from the free-throw line and faced a Syracuse zone press throughout the game that presented difficulty allowing them to set up their halfcourt offense.  Still, McCombs was encouraged at Stony Brook's 48-45 rebounding advantage against a tall Syracuse team after getting outrebounded by Fordham in the season opener.

Stony Brook committed 22 turnovers, but forced 21.

"From the inside and outside we definitely struggled," McCombs said. "With their size, it was a good opportunity to grow and learn and get better. You're not going to win a lot of games shooting the way we did. So we'll work on that in our upcoming practices."

From a Syracuse perspective, the Orange's season opener marked the return of point guard Tiana Mangakahia, who missed the 2019-20 season while battling stage 2 breast cancer.

Mangakahia, who was declared cancer-free after a successful double mastectomy on Nov. 6, 2019, contributed a game-high 16 points.

Meanwhile, Stony Brook is looking to add games. In the interim, with home-and-home contests against Sacred Heart this week canceled after the Pioneers halted activities for two weeks, the Seawolves' next scheduled game currently is at Hofstra on Dec. 13.

"They're just a really good basketball team," Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman said about the Seawolves. "I have to give them credit for playing tough."