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Entering Sunday on a four-game winning streak, Syracuse found itself in second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Its most recent win — a 79-73 upset of No. 15 Florida State at the JMA Wireless Dome — gave SU its second victory over a ranked conference opponent in the 2023-24 season.

On the other side, Pittsburgh came into the day as one of three ACC teams winless in conference play (Virginia, Wake Forest). The Panthers haven’t defeated the Orange since Dec. 8, 2005, and with the program’s current standing, nothing appeared to be changing anytime soon for Pitt.

Sunday afternoon, SU extended its all-time winning streak over Pittsburgh to 25. Pitt started out hot, leading through 10 minutes and shooting more than 53% from the field. Though, Dyaisha Fair and Georgia Woolley were able to counter, each dropping 20-plus points for the Orange as multiple large runs propelled them to a 13-point victory over the Panthers. The win is SU’s fifth straight.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (16-2, 6-1 ACC) 72-59 victory over Pittsburgh (6-13, 0-6 ACC) on the road Sunday:

SU still starts off slow

The Orange haven’t seen a less formidable ACC opponent than Pittsburgh. Syracuse weathered slow starts and overcame large deficits in each of their past two games against Clemson and FSU, but the Panthers presented SU an opportunity to start out hot and seal an early victory.

Still, Syracuse began as it typically tends to: slowly. Through the opening quarter, the Orange trailed 17-12. They faced an early onslaught from Pitt leading scorer Liatu King and displayed poor shooting from 3.

SU took an early 6-5 advantage after Fair intercepted a pass from Pitt’s Marley Washenitz and canned a pull-up mid-range jumper. On its next offensive possession, Fair penetrated the lane and drew a double-team, kicking out to Sophie Burrows who missed a wide-open 3. In response, Pittsburgh’s Rapuluchi Ayodele converted a 3-point play to make it 8-6.

Though Saniaa Wilson tied it at eight with a layup, King scored the next four points for Pitt. Later in the quarter, Bella Perkins was wide-open in transition on the right wing, nailing the ensuing 3 to put the Panthers up 17-10. Woolley kept Syracuse afloat with a jumper, two of her six first-quarter points, to only trail by five through 10 minutes. Yet the Orange couldn’t find a way to end things early — something they haven’t done against an ACC opponent all season.

King of the court

King, who entered Sunday as the No. 5-leading scorer in the ACC, single-handedly willed Pittsburgh into a competitive showing. Syracuse couldn’t stop her. The senior forward finished with 27 points off an efficient 12-of-19 afternoon from the field. From the get-go, the Panthers unleashed King.

She scored each of Pitt’s opening five points, embarking on an early 5-2 lead over SU. King quickly spun by Kyra Wood on the low block for a lay-in, then ran the floor for a fast break layup and split a pair of free throws. She often won position battles against Wood and freshman forward Alyssa Latham inside and finished at the rim with consistency.

King closed the first with nine points on perfect shooting and, though she garnered nine more in the second, she was held to a 4-of-9 performance from the field. Wood started to force more contested looks, but King muscled through the forward for easy points under the basket. She dropped 18 points through the first half of play, leading all scorers.

The second half was a little slower for King as she was held to just four points in the third. She looked to get things going for a Panthers’ comeback attempt, muscling by Wood for a lay-in early in the fourth to make it just 53-47 Syracuse. Though by the time she scored her next bucket, the Orange were up double digits. King closed Sunday out as the only player SU failed to stall.

She’s not Fair

Fair’s no stranger to picking up Syracuse when it’s down. On Jan. 14, the star point guard spurred a 14-0 run late in the fourth to help defeat Clemson, completing SU’s largest comeback (19 points) under Felisha Legette-Jack. Against Pitt, after the Orange trailed 20-12 in the second, Fair ignited a 12-0 run to give Syracuse a lead that it never relinquished.

She kick-started the scoring spurt 1:18 into the quarter, swishing a 3 off a feed from Woolley. A few plays later, Fair turned over King and dished to Woolley on the fast break. The Australia native finished the lay-in to put SU up 21-20.

Once a layup from King cut into Syracuse’s lead at the 5:36 mark, Fair drilled each of her next three consecutive shots — all from beyond the arc. She turned it on after going 0-for-3 from 3 in the first, dropping 12 second-quarter points. Fair shot with confidence, pulling from deep range at times while still finding success. The point guard, who entered Sunday with the 12th-most points in women’s college basketball history, helped the Orange take a 35-28 lead into the break.

From there, Fair continued her strong performance. A key, high-arcing 3-point make from Fair late in the third quarter suppressed a brief run from the Panthers. A step-back 3 right over Pitt’s Washenitz gave SU a 12-point lead early in the fourth. Fair finished with a team-best 22 points off 6-for-18 3-point shooting through SU’s win.

Syracuse’s game-ending run

To capture its victory over Pitt, Syracuse went on an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter. The scoring stretch spoiled what could have been a potential comeback from the Panthers, who had only trailed by as little as six in the fourth.

Answering a basket inside by Pittsburgh’s King, Rice cashed in on a wide open 3-pointer off a feed from Wilson to make it 56-47 SU. Over a minute later, Wilson stole possession from Pitt’s Jala Jordan and Fair drained a 3 on the other end, increasing the lead to 12.

The Orange then sealed things at the charity stripe. Wilson was hacked by Jordan on a shot attempt inside, knocking down the two ensuing free throws. Then Rice, who scored 10 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter, was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Rice made all three from the free throw line, giving SU a commanding 64-47 advantage.

The Panthers could only scrape back to a 13-point deficit when the clock hit zero. The 11-0 run sealed SU’s fifth-straight ACC win while dropping Pitt to 0-6 in conference play.

Published on January 21, 2024 at 4:19 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews