Syracuse women’s basketball beats Pittsburgh, 71-53

It was a great day for the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball team in the Dome on Sunday afternoon. Syracuse beat Pittsburgh by a score of 71-53 for their fourth consecutive win in their annual “Pink Game Day.” Here’s how it went down for the Orange:

The first five minutes Syracuse struggled to settle in offensively as they had a lot of empty possessions, but Pittsburgh was never able to create any sort of separation as they had their own offensive struggles. Teisha Hyman and Kiara Lewis hit back to back jumpers to take an 11-5 lead at the 4:31 mark of the first. Lewis, who has been Syracuse’s best scorer this season, has struggled at times this year to get going early. Today she hit some key shots in the first, which opened up lanes for other Cuse scorers throughout the afternoon. Three point shots by Teisha Hyman, Taleah Washington, and Kiara Lewis on three consecutive possessions gave the Orange a 20-7 lead and that was followed by a Panther timeout. The Orange took a 24-12 lead into the first break.

SU’s first four field goals of the second quarter came from Digna Strautmane, who had a huge game at UNC her last time out. Midway through the quarter the game got a little sloppy with turnovers plaguing both teams, but Syracuse changed their game plan and started using their size in the paint. Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi hit back to back layups and Syracuse broke this thing open to a 37-20 lead. Pittsburgh isn’t a very good team, so it was good to see the Orange continue their recent good play and not have a let down. Syracuse led at the half, 38-24.

Digna kept her hot shooting going into the second as she nailed her first two three pointers of the quarter, as the Orange lead increased to 20. Her great play as of late is very encouraging for a team that sits on the bubble. Pittsburgh never had a run in them, as they were at a disadvantage at every facet of the game. On the day, the Panthers only knocked down one three, and that came from Dayshanette Harris early in the first quarter. They were also out-rebounded 48-32. After an Amber Brown layup for Pitt late in the third, they trailed after three 59-35.

The game was already out of hand in the fourth as the clock kept ticking down. Syracuse looked like a team all day poised for a serious run in late February and March as it seems they are getting the most out of all of their players at the right time. The Orange took this one 71-53 in convincing fashion without anything crazy happening in the fourth.

Dayshanette Harris led her team with 18 points and also grabbed 7 rebounds. Amber Brown was the only other Panther in double figures as she scored 14 points. Once again, Kiara Lewis led the Orange today in scoring as she tallied 19 points, tossed out 6 assists, and grabbed 6 boards. Digna Strautmane shined as she scored 18 points and grabbed 9 boards. Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi was the only other Orange in double figures, as she had 10 points.

The ‘Cuse looked really good today, and they are going to have to keep playing well against decent opponents. They travel to Clemson next on February 20, followed by a trip to South bend to face Notre Dame on the 23rd. The Orange have a small margin for error in the next two games. Let’s keep this win streak going!