The St. John’s women’s basketball team was unable to take advantage of a Syracuse team that had not played a game in a week, dropping an 80-52 decision to the No. 24 team in the nation at the Carrier Dome Saturday afternoon. The loss was the Red Storm’s fourth straight, all of which have occurred against ranked opponents.

The Johnnies had an encouraging start, jumping out to a 4-0 lead to start off the game. But a combination of eight missed shots and six turnovers allowed the Orange to answer back with a 14-0 run before junior Kelly McManmon’s back-to-back three-pointers surged a Johnnie comeback midway in the first half that brought St. John’s within 16-12.

Once again the Orange had a response, reeling off another impressive 11-2 run to basically break the backs of the Red Storm. A jumper by Syracuse’s Erica Morrow in the closing moments of the first half gave the Orange a 42-24 lead as they headed back into the locker room.

The second half began as the first half had ended when Syracuse hit three straight shots to open up a 24 point advantage over St. John’s.

The loss overshadowed another impressive performance on the glass by freshman Centhya Hart, who pulled down 10 rebounds. It was the second double digit rebounding performance of her short career. Offensively, the Johnnies were led by Tiina Sten and her 11 points.

The loss drops St. John’s to 10-9, which includes just a 1-5 record versus Big East competition. Syracuse improves to 16-3 with a 4-2 mark against the Big East.