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The last time Pittsburgh defeated Syracuse, President Barack Obama began his first term in office. “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga was the No. 1 song and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” was the No. 1 movie, and neither team was in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Since Jan. 24, 2009, the two have played 25 times.

And on Thursday, Syracuse (18-11, 9-9 ACC) picked up its 24th-consecutive win over Pittsburgh (10-18, 3-14 ACC), sweeping the season series and adding a win to its NCAA Tournament resume, currently sitting on the bubble. After a back-and-forth first quarter, which saw each team taking a quick-scoring run, Syracuse developed a 14-point lead by halftime, outscoring the Panthers 25-10 in the second period. The second half would be much of the same as Syracuse controlled the game from end-to-end, getting a 85-55 win in the final regular-season game. Dyaisha Fair’s 23 points — seven 3-pointers — led all scorers.

The game was tied 9-9 at the first media timeout. Pitt jumped out a 5-2 lead after Maliyah Johnson used the backboard to bank in a right wing 3 while hitting a soft floater along the baseline for her second basket. But Syracuse responded with a short 7-0 run.

Fair settled at the top of the key, before rifling a pass inside to Dariauna Lewis. Lewis scored underneath, scoring her second bucket off a Fair pass. Though Rice missed a couple 3s, Kennedi Perkins split two defenders down the middle for a layup while Fair hit a triple. That 3-pointer was the only field goal outside of the paint in the first quarter for the Orange.

Saniaa Wilson hit a couple buckets, working down low, as did Kyra Wood. And to close the quarter, Teisha Hyman pressured Pitt’s Emy Hayford, causing a loose ball rolling into the backcourt. Hyman picked it up, dribbling down court and scoring with just under two seconds to go in the period as Pitt led 18-17 through one period. It was a first quarter of runs as Pitt countered SU’s 7-0 run with a 9-0 run, getting a couple 3s from Avery Strickland.

To start the second quarter, the Orange took over, starting on a 10-1 run. Nyah Wilson checked into the game for valuable minutes. Syracuse was down a guard as Georgia Woolley was unavailable. Breaking Pitt’s zone, Nyah drove and stopped, crossing over behind her back before continuing to the bucket. Fair knocked down two more triples, forcing Pittsburgh to call a timeout.

Syracuse continued its dominant second quarter as Fair made another from beyond the arc, one of four in the first half. Perkins drained one from range and Alaina Rice scored one in the corner as the clock winded down in the period. Eight of the nine Syracuse players that appeared in the first half scored, led by Fair’s 12. Woolley was unavailable on Thursday for the Orange with a concussion, but they still had a wide range of scorers.

Fair distributed the ball well, too, getting two of her five first-half assists on the first two possessions of the game. Fair had just five assists in the first meeting between the two. Syracuse finished with 25 assists on the night.

Pitt added buckets here and there in the period, totaling just 10 points in the second quarter. It was outscored by 15 as Syracuse ended the half with its largest lead at that point with 14 points. The Orange shot 51% from the field and 43% from beyond the arc. It was much different than the first meeting between the sides, where Syracuse had to overcome a small halftime deficit to defeat the Panthers.

Syracuse’s consistent ball movement allowed it to open more scoring opportunities. For the opening bucket of the second half, Rice led the transition offensive before finding Fair on the left wing, Fair tried to make her way inside, but elected to kick it out to Hyman. Hyman drove the baseline, beating her defender and kissing it off the glass.

Sometimes, it was as simple as an extra pass. Asia Strong stole the ball from the Panthers dribbling up court. She stopped at the left wing and was open for a 3. The 3-pointer isn’t her speciality, but she’ll occasionally take them. Instead, she waited for a defender to close, before dishing it to Hyman for a wide-open baseline jumper on the left side.

Pitt began to put on more pressure defensively, forcing turnovers. Perkins tried to dump the ball off to Lewis inside the paint, but instead it got picked off by Amber Brown. Brown went coast-to-coast before Perkins fouled her on her layup attempt. Then, Pitt forced a jump-ball with more pressure near halfcourt.

But Syracuse still controlled the period, holding an 18-point lead by the end of the third quarter as Fair knocked down another triple. Fair drained two more within the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter as she approached the program record of eight 3s in a game. Fair was benched midway through the fourth quarter as the Orange held a 20-point plus lead, the game well out of reach.

Published on February 23, 2023 at 8:00 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini