Coming off its first loss of the season on Thursday, Syracuse (12-1) came out firing in the first quarter of its game against UNLV (5-6) on Friday in its final nonconference game. 18-straight points set the Orange out in front from the opening tip and the game was never close in a bounce-back 69-55 win for SU at the Duel in the Desert.

The Rebels cut the lead to 14 on the last bucket of the game, but that was the closest the tournament hosts would be to closing on Syracuse after the opening 18-0 run.

UNLV struggled with turnovers throughout the contest. The Rebels turned the ball over 28 times, in contrast to Syracuse’s much smaller total of 14. Tiana Mangakahia wreaked much of the havoc for SU, ending the game with eight steals. The turnover margin meant that the Orange was able to attempt 17 more field goals than UNLV in a game which the Rebels barely outshot SU from the floor, 36 percent to 35.8.

Gabrielle Cooper, who led the Orange with 22 points in the loss to No. 5 Mississippi State, had another strong scoring output with 17 points. Digna Strautmane had 13 points in the first half and finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Mangakahia finished with 12 points and nine assists, not missing a triple-double by much when combined with her eight steals. Miranda Drummond rounded out Syracuse’s double-digit scorers with a team-leading 18 of her own.

At the end of the first quarter, Syracuse led UNLV 28-6. The Rebels outscored SU the rest of the way, winning the last three quarters 49-41. But the big run to start the contest meant that the Orange could breeze to the finish line. A day after losing to the highest-ranked team it will play in the nonconference, Syracuse made sure Friday’s result was never in doubt right from the get-go.