ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell women's lacrosse team gave No. 4 Syracuse all it could handle in the first half, but the Orange controlled the final 30 minutes and cruised to a 20-9 victory on Tuesday evening at Schoellkopf Field. Syracuse improved to 10-3, while the Big Red slipped to 7-5.

The Big Red led 6-3 early in the second quarter and went into the break tied at 6-6 behind a stingy defense, a narrow 7-6 edge at the draw circle and a 16-15 edge in shots. Six saves by captain Katie McGahan in goal also kept Cornell in it, as the Big Red exploded for a 5-0 run and held the powerful Orange attack scoreless for a span of 15:05 bridging the first and second quarters.

Katie Castiello scored four goals to lead the Big Red, with both Genevieve DeWinter and Amanda Cramer scoring twice. Sophie Alois was credited with two assists. McGahan ended her evening with nine saves, including the 400th of her career, and Ellie Horner added one while playing the final 10:54 of the contest.Grace Faircloth caused a pair of Orange turnovers, Olivia Wall and Caitlin Slaminko both won three ground balls and DeWinter added four draw control victories to her stat line.

Syracuse's Emily Hawryschuk was credited with seven goals and four assists for an 11-point evening, a mark that is tied for second in a single game in SU history,. She scored four goals and assisted on three more in the decisive second half. Meaghan Tyrrell added three goals and three assists, both Payton Rowley and Natalie Smith registered three goals and Olivia Adamson had a goal and four assists in the win. The Orange pulled away by scoring 14 second half goals on 23 total shots thanks in large part to four free position goals and a 12-7 edge on the draw in the final 30 minutes.
 
Cornell scored first with Cramer getting a step on the defender and burying a hot 5:26 into the contest. The Orange answered a minute later and consecutive scores by Hawryschuk appeared to put the visitors in the driver's seat, but the Big Red answered. Josie Vogel cut the deficit in half with 1:22 left in the quarter on a tough angled shot before DeWinter knotted the game at 3-3 with a quick dodge and fire that found the back of the net with 2.6 seconds remaining before the break.

Castiello scored the first two goals of the second and Amanda Cramer netted the Big Red's fifth straght and all of a sudden its two-goal deficit was a three-goal lead at 6-3 with 7:48 to play before halftime. The Orange chipped away, with Natalie Smith eventually evening the score at 6-6 with 76 seconds left before halftime.

That 3-0 run to end the half was extended in the second as the visitors tallied six consecutive to begin the second half. Tyrrello had two goals and three assists during the run and Olivia Adamson had a goal and three helpers as Syracuse bumped its lead to 12-6. Cornell put two straight in by Castiello in a span of just 40 seconds to give the Big Red some hope and cut the Orange deficit to 12-8 entering the fourth.

Syracuse put the game out of reach in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, scoring three times on a run that would eventually be 8-0 over a span of just 10:38 to walk away with its 10th win of the year.

Cornell will attempt to bounce back when it meets Ivy League leader Yale on Saturday, April 16 at 12 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.