UConn routs SMU; Oregon and Oregon State also win

DALLAS (AP) — Christyn Williams scored 21 points and Megan Walker added 15 as top-ranked UConn eased past SMU 80-42 on Sunday to remain undefeated heading into Thursday’s showdown against No. 6 Baylor.

The Huskies (12-0, 3-0 American) never trailed and led by as many as 40 points.

SMU (6-7, 0-1) faced its first ranked opponent this season. The Mustangs were led by reserve Amber Bacon with 12 points and Reagan Bradley with 11. Johnasia Cash, the team’s leading scorer going into Sunday averaging 10.7 points, finished with two points.

No. 2 OREGON 88, UTAH 51

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu scored 17 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists to help Oregon rout Utah.

Ruthy Hebard had the 46th double-double of her career with 13 points and 12 rebounds and Minyon Moore added 15 points as the Ducks (12-1, 2-0) never trailed in handing Utah (7-7, 0-3) its worst Pac-12 defeat, in its ninth year in the conference.

Lola Pendande had 12 points to lead the Utes, who were coming off a 29-point defeat at Oregon State and suffered their worst loss by margin since a 42-point loss to Western Kentucky in 1993.

No. 3 OREGON STATE 72, COLORADO 60

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Mikayla Pivec had 16 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists to lead Oregon State to a victory over Colorado.

The Buffaloes, who were coming off Friday’s 104-46 loss at No. 2 Oregon, stayed within striking distance of Oregon State until midway through the fourth quarter. Colorado, which trailed by 10 points at halftime, closed to 50-46 after three quarters. Pivec scored six points during an 11-4 to open the fourth quarter and that help extend the program’s longest winning streak to 14 games.

Peanut Tuitele led the Buffaloes with 15 points.

No. 4 SOUTH CAROLINA 93, ALABAMA 78

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Aliyah Boston had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead South Carolina to a win over Alabama.

Freshman Zia Cooke scored a team high 20 points, 11 in the second half, for the Gamecocks (14-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference).

South Carolina’s size down low was too much for Alabama, out rebounding the Crimson Tide (10-5, 0-2) by 42-33 and blocking six shots to Alabama’s zero.

Alabama”s Jordan Lewis scored a game-high 21 points and added six assists and seven rebounds.

No. 5 STANFORD 77, WASHINGTON 56

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Kiana Williams keyed a decisive stretch late in the third quarter with three quick baskets to finish with 20 points and nine assists, leading Stanford to a win over Washington.

Lexie Hull added nine points and 11 rebounds while freshman Haley Jones blocked three shots as the Cardinal (13-1, 2-0 Pac-12) won their third consecutive game since the team’s lone defeat at Texas on Dec. 22.

Amber Melgoza scored 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting for Washington (10-4, 2-1) but missed her three 3-point tries and committed five turnovers.

No. 7 LOUISVILLE 60, DUKE 55

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Dana Evans hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining and Bionca Dunham hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to help Louisville beat Duke.

The Cardinals (14-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed much of the game before finally going ahead 49-47 on Evans’ 3 with 7:15 remaining. The Blue Devils twice rallied from four-point deficits to tie it at 55 on Kyra Lambert’s jumper with 1:06 left before Evans answered with another 3 to finish with 10 points despite 2-of-11 shooting.

Jazmine Jones scored a career-high 26 points to reach 1,000 for her career and grabbed 10 rebounds. She scored Louisville’s first 10 points to keep her team close and added two free throws in the fourth to keep the Cardinals ahead.

Haley Gorecki scored 20 points and Azana Baines 15 for the Blue Devils (7-7, 1-2), who lost their fourth in a row.

No. 8 FLORIDA STATE 73, No. 23 MIAMI 62

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Kiah Gillespie scored 21 points to lead Florida State to a victory over Miami.

Gillespie shot 8 of 11 from the field as the Seminoles (14-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) rebounded from their first loss of the season Thursday at Syracuse.

Morgan Jones scored 16 points and Nicki Ekhomu finished with 15 points for Florida State.

The Hurricanes (9-5, 1-2) rallied from an 18-point third-quarter deficit and got within 54-47 on Brianna Jackson’s layup with 8:42 remaining in the fourth quarter before Florida State responded with seven unanswered points.

Miami center and preseason ACC Player of the Year Beatrice Mompremier missed the game because of a foot injury.

No. 9 N.C. STATE 80, VIRGINIA 60

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Elissa Cunane had 26 points and 10 rebounds and North Carolina State beat Virginia.

Jakia Brown-Turner added 13 points and Grace Hunter scored 10 for the Wolfpack (14-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who matched the second-best start in program history.

N.C. State never trailed and stretched its lead to 38-23 with a 13-2 run in the second quarter. Cunane made a pair of layups, including a three-point play, and assisted on a 3-pointer during the run.

The Wolfpack added a 16-0 spurt in the third quarter, scoring on seven of eight possessions to pull away.

Jocelyn Willoughby scored 25 points to lead Virginia (5-9, 0-3).

No. 10 UCLA 70, No. 18 ARIZONA STATE 58

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michaela Onyenwere scored 18 points and added 13 rebounds to lead UCLA to a win over 18th-ranked Arizona in a matchup that featured undefeated teams.

UCLA extended its best start in program history to 14-0 and is first in the Pac-12 at 3-0.

Aari McDonald had 19 points for Arizona (13-1, 2-1 Pac-12) and Cate Reese added 10.

The Bruins and Wildcats were tied at halftime at 31, but UCLA pulled away early in the third quarter and it was never close again.

Point guard Japreece Dean had just two points and four turnovers in the first half. She finished with nine points and just one turnover in the second half.

No. 13 KENTUCKY 80, No. 22 TENNESSEE 76

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Rhyne Howard scored a career-high 37 points, hitting seven 3-pointers, and Kentucky held off Tennessee.

Howard made several key baskets and then sank 4 of 6 free throws in the final minute as the Wildcats held off one last surge from the Lady Vols.

Howard’s last 3-pointer put Kentucky (12-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) on top 72-60 with 3:42 to play. Her layup at 1:54 stopped an 8-0 Tennessee run and after Sabrina Haines made a pair of free throws for the Wildcats, Howard took over at the foul line.

Tennessee (11-2, 1-1) ended up outscoring Kentucky 30-29 in the fourth quarter, going 11 of 20 from the field and 8 of 11 from the line. The ‘Cats were 10 of 15 and 7 of 9.

Howard was 7 of 13 behind the arc, matching her career-best for makes, and 5 of 14 inside. She went 6 of 9 from the foul line with nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. Haines added 11 points.

Rennia Davis led Tennessee with 27 points before fouling out in the final minute.

No. 15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 73, GEORGIA 66

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Jordan Danberry and Rickea Jackson scored 17 points each and Mississippi State beat Georgia to extend the nation’s longest road win streak to 13.

Eleven of Danberry’s points came in the fourth quarter, including six in a 8-0 run to start the period to give MSU (14-2, 2-0 SEC) some breathing room at 56-47. Three of the baskets came after consecutive turnovers by Georgia (10-5, 1-1) which finished 23 miscues.

The victory was the sixth straight for MSU.

Georgia got within four points three times in the fourth quarter, the final time at 66-62 on Jenna Staiti’s layup with just over two minutes left. But Danberry made three free throws and Jackson two in the final 38 seconds.

Stephanie Paul had 15 points and nine rebounds for Georgia.

No. 16 DePAUL 74, CREIGHTON 71

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Chante Stonewall scored 26 points, Lexi Held added 23 and Sonya Morris came up with a big steal in the closing seconds and DePaul pulled out a win over Creighton.

Morris’ steal came after Stonewall’s tie-breaking free throw — after she missed her first attempt — with six seconds left. Following the turnover, Kelly Campbell made two free throws in the last second.

Jaylyn Agnew, who scored 18 points for the Bluejays, made two free throws with 1:23 to play and after a DePaul miss Temi Carda, who scored 24, made two more to tie the game at 71 with 38 seconds left.

Neither team led by more than six points, and that was in the first half, for both teams. DePaul led throughout the third quarter, once by five, but twice Creighton tied the score. Carly Bachelor scored twice as the Bluejays scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to go ahead 63-60.

DePaul (13-2, 3-0 Big East Conference) entered the game averaging almost 88 points a game while Creighton (11-4, 3-1) allowed just 59.6.

No. 19 WEST VIRGINIA 74, KANSAS STATE 63

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kysre Gondrezick matched career highs with 24 points and eight assists in helping West Virginia beat Kansas State in a Big 12 opener.

Gondrezick was 9-of-14 shooting, making half of her eight 3-point attempts. Tynice Martin added 18 points and Madisen Smith, with three makes from the arc, scoring 15 for West Virginia (11-1).

Peyton Williams, who has been averaging a double-double, had another with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (6-6).

No. 20 ARKANSAS 86, AUBURN 70

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Amber Ramirez had four of her seven 3-pointers in the first quarter en route to a 25-point outing and Arkansas cruised to a win over Auburn.

Chelsea Dungee, who added 19 points, had seven of her nine first-quarter points to cap off a 10-point run for a 12-9 lead midway through the first quarter. After an Auburn basket, Ramirez scored the next 11 points, including 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions. Her 3-pointer in the final minute made it 26-12 after one quarter.

Makayla Daniels added 13 points for the Razorbacks (13-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), who bounced back after losing their league-opener to No. 11 Texas A&M.

Daisa Alexander and Brooke Moore had 19 points apiece for the Tigers (6-7, 0-2).

No. 21 MISSOURI STATE 81, VALPARAISO 68

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Alexa Willard scored 24 points and Brice Calip added 18 to lead Missouri State to a victory over Valparaiso.

Jasmine Franklin added 10 points with nine rebounds for the Lady Bears (12-2, 2-0) Missouri Valley Conference). Both teams had 24 field goals and the Crusaders made nine more 3-pointers but the difference came at the free-throw line where Missouri State made 28 of 36 to just 6 of 8 for Valparaiso. Calip was 11 of 14 at the line.

Grace Hales led the Crusaders (8-5, 0-2) with five 3-pointers and 17 points. Addison Stoller and Caitlin Morrison added 13 points each and Shaw Frederick 10. Valparaiso made 14 of 22 from the arc for 64%.