SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Kayla Alexander scored 19 points and No. 23 Syracuse exploited 23 Pittsburgh turnovers to defeat the Panthers 80-39 Saturday for its fifth straight win.
The Orange (21-3, 9-2 Big East) scored 18 points following turnovers to four by the Panthers (9-15, 0-11) off nine Syracuse miscues. Syracuse, which ranked third nationally with 13.6 steals per game, had 14 Saturday.
Pittsburgh lost its 31st consecutive Big East regular-season game and suffered its second straight defeat by more than 30 points. The Panthers lost 78-45 at Louisville last Saturday.
Syracuse scored the first seven points and never trailed. It led 34-10 with 5:27 until halftime after a 12-0 run.
La'Shay Taft added 11 points and Brittney Sykes and Carmen Tyson-Thomas added 10 each for the Orange, who are 11-0 at home.
Marquel Davis scored 12 points for Pittsburgh, which will move with Syracuse to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.
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