The inconsistencies were still there, but the Georgetown women’s basketball team showed that enough highs can overcome a few low points.

The Hoyas (8-12, 3-6) defeated the Syracuse Orange (11-9, 3-6) 70-56 on Wednesday night in upstate New York. Despite an uneven effort, the best of times – a 43-15 lead going into halftime – outshone the worst of times – 11 turnovers and Syracuse’s 41 points in the second half. Georgetown now has back-to-back Big East wins off two fast-starting performances.

“Probably the biggest key is how we came out and started the game,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “We were very upbeat and very confident and were able to knock down some shots.”

The Hoyas nailed their first six field goals to take the early lead while neutralizing the Orange starters, including keeping leading-scorer senior forward Chineze Nwagbo entirely off the scoreboard. In the final nine minutes of the half Georgetown went on its biggest run of the season, knocking out the home team early with an 18-2 run.

“Georgetown came out and, obviously, shot the ball very well. We didn’t do much to help ourselves,” Syracuse Head Coach Keith Cieplicki said in a press statement. “We just dug ourselves too big of a hole tonight.”

While the Orange went 1-for-15 in that period, the Hoyas had a strong 10-for-19 showing and went 20 minutes without any turnovers. Georgetown posted a 55.9 shooting percentage behind senior guard ary Lisicky’s 12 points in 12 minutes.

The Hoyas could not keep up the pace, struggling to hold on to the ball as the Orange changed tactics from a first-half plan that clearly did not work. Syracuse was successful in forcing turnovers from Georgetown and finding scorers on the perimeter as freshman guards Jessica Richter and Mary Joe Riley combined for 23 points.

“In a situation when it feels like it’s breaking down, you give everything a try. We played a little zone, we tried mixing up the matchups just to try and see if we could find a way to get them under control,” Cieplicki said.

Freshman forward Kieraah Marlow led Georgetown with 12 points as the team put up a respectable second half performance on offense, shooting 41 percent from the floor. But, without senior forward Varda Tamoulianis at the post, the Hoyas did not grab a single offensive board in the second half.

“We were missing Varda, and she does get a lot of offensive rebounds for us,” Williams-Flournoy said. “There were not a lot of offense rebounds to get in the first half, though, because we were making all out shots.”

The first half scoring blitz, however, was enough to cover any later faults as Georgetown coasted to a solid victory.

Junior forward Christine Whitt filled in for Tamoulianis on the starting lineup, picking up 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks – all career highs.

“She did a great job. She knew exactly what to do on offense and where to be on defense,” Williams-Flournoy said.

Marlow continued to pace the team with a game-high 20 points and 13 boards. Senior guard Bethany LeSueur chipped in 11 points while Lisicky continued to be a high-volume scorer with limited minutes, posting 14 points for the night.

“The offensive execution has been a lot better,” Williams-Flournoy said. “For this team, the offense is the best way to get the defense together.”

The Hoyas’ win marked only the second time this season that the team has won consecutive games and the first time in conference play. Georgetown now sits with Syracuse and Pittsburgh in the standings and could make a big jump with a win over West Virginia (12-7, 3-5) tomorrow. The Mountaineers will bring to cDonough Gymnasium a sharp-shooting pair in senior guard Yolanda Paige and sophomore guard Meg Bulger.

“West Virginia is a very good team. They are very athletic and have some very good wins,” Williams-Flournoy said. “I keep saying it: Every Big East game is going to be a battle.”

The two teams face off at 2 p.m.