ORONO, Maine - Syracuse women's basketball (2-0) used a 17-0 second-half run in which it held Maine (0-3) scoreless for 8:41 to cruise to a 68-44 victory on Tuesday evening at Alfond Arena.
Kayla Alexander scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots to lead the Orange. With her second double-double of the season in as many games, the senior center ran her career total to 21.
Elashier Hall scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Brittney Sykes added nine points and nine rebounds. Rachel Coffey dished out a game-high six assists to go with five points and five boards.
The Orange began to pull away in the middle of the second half, using an 17-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back assists by Coffey, first on the break to Brittney Sykes and then to Alexander in the halfcourt set, to force a Maine timeout with 7:54 left. The run was capped off by two Hall free throws with 4:23 left that put SU up 64-40.
The Black Bears did not score a point between the 11:19 and 2:38 marks, as it saw its deficit grow from seven to 24.
An 8-1 Maine run to end the first half cut into what was an 11-point Syracuse lead and send the teams to the locker rooms with the Orange leading, 32-28. Alexander led the way in the opening 20 minutes with eight points and six rebounds, while Brianna Butler added six on 2-of-2 3-point shooting.
The teams played the first 10 minutes of the game to a 16-16 stalemate, but a Rachel Coffey 3-pointer at the 9:58 mark triggered a 15-4 Orange run over the next 6:32 that was capped off by a pair of Alexander free throws that put Syracuse ahead by 11, 31-20, with 3:26 left in the half.
The Orange shot 40.3 percent from the field, while Maine, who was led by Ashleigh Roberts' 10 points, shot 34.5 percent.
Both defense forced the opposing offense to turn the ball over often, with Maine turning it over 27 times and Syracuse logging 25 turnovers. The Orange held a 22-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Orange returns to action on Friday when it heads to Ithaca, N.Y. to face Cornell in a 5 p.m. tip.
