PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - Bria Hartley scored a career-high 30 points and Breanna Stewart added 23 to lead top-ranked Connecticut to a 94-64 win over No. 23 Rutgers on Sunday.
UConn (19-0, 6-0 American) has won 25 straight games, the sixth longest streak in school history.
The Huskies raced out to an 18-6 lead in the game’s first 5 minutes. Stewart had eight of the team’s first 18 points as Connecticut didn’t miss many from the field. UConn extended the advantage to 41-20 on the 6-foot-4 sophomore’s layup with 4:58 left before Rutgers closed the half with a 9-2 burst to trail 43-29 at the half.
Rutgers (13-4, 4-2) cut it to 12 before UConn put it away behind Stewart and Hartley.
Freshman Tyler Scaife scored a season-high 22 points and Kahleah Copper added 20 for the Scarlet Knights.
No. 3 DUKE 74, VIRGINIA TECH 70
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Tricia Liston scored 22 points, Alexis Jones had 19, and Duke held off Virginia Tech’s rally.
The Blue Devils (18-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) led by 15 points at the half, but the Hokies pulled within three in the closing seconds
Uju Ugoka scored 29 points, Vanessa Panousis added 21 and Monet Tellier had 18 for Virginia Tech (10-7, 0-4). Ugoka’s putback with 14.5 seconds left cut the deficit to 71-68. But with fans screaming, Liston calmly made two free throws to all but clinch Duke’s eighth straight win.
The Hokies lost their fifth straight overall and 20th in a row against the Blue Devils.
Duke led 45-30 early in the second half before Virginia rallied. Panousis’ long 3-pointer with the shot clock running down made it 51-48 with 8:53 remaining.
No. 5 LOUISVILLE 81, SMU 66
DALLAS (AP) - Antonita Slaughter had two 3-pointers in a go-ahead 11-0 run for Louisville early in the second half, and the Cardinals stretched their winning streak to 11 games.
The slow-starting Cardinals (18-1, 6-0 American Athletic) went ahead to stay by scoring the 11 consecutive points in a span of only 79 seconds.
Slaughter finished with 17 points and four 3s, her first made shots from behind the arc in her four games since missing six games with a blood clot in her lungs. The senior guard had five 3-pointers in the second game this season, and twice in her career had seven in a game.
Tia Gibbs had 20 points to lead five Cardinals in double-figure scoring. Louisville beat SMU for the second time in three weeks, having won the AAC opener at home 71-51 on Dec. 29.
No. 6 MARYLAND 92, GEORGIA TECH 81
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Alyssa Thomas had 22 points and 14 rebounds for her NCAA-leading 15th double-double, and Maryland withstood a strong challenge from Georgia Tech.
The Terrapins trailed at halftime and led by only four points with 8:50 left. But with Thomas leading the way, Maryland (16-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) earned its 14th consecutive win and beat the Yellow Jackets (12-5, 2-3) for the fifth straight time.
Thomas went 7 for 14 from the floor and made eight of nine free throws, including a pair that launched a 6-0 run that made it 75-65 with 5:33 to go.
Lexie Brown scored 15 for the Terrapins and Alicia DeVaughn added 13, going 11 for 12 at the line. Maryland committed a season-high 23 turnovers, but made 35 foul shots compared to 15 for Georgia Tech.
KANSAS 76, No. 7 BAYLOR 60
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Chelsea Gardner scored 28 points and Natalie Knight added 18 as Kansas upset Baylor.
The loss ended Baylor’s 44-game winning streak in Big 12 regular-season games and was the Bears second straight loss overall after they fell to No. 1 Connecticut last week.
CeCe Harper added 10 points for Kansas (9-9. 2-4 Big 12), which defeated Baylor for the first time in nine games.
Odyssey Sims scored 31 points for the Bears (14-2, 4-1), but she was held to only 10 points in the second half as the Bears struggled shooting.
Niya Johnson added eight points for Baylor.
Sims made only 4 of 19 shots in the second half, and without her the Bears couldn’t do much offensively.
No. 8 SOUTH CAROLINA 77, ALABAMA 51
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Elem Ibiam scored 18 points and South Carolina bounced back from its first Southeastern Conference loss.
The Gamecocks (17-2, 5-1 SEC) had been at the top of the SEC until falling in overtime at Texas A&M on Thursday night. Ibiam and her teammates on the front line made sure that wouldn’t happen again as they won their eighth straight game over the Crimson Tide (8-10, 1-4).
The 6-foot-4 Ibiam made 7 of 11 shots and added seven rebounds and two blocks. Six-foot Aleighsa Welch had 12 points and 10 boards, while 6-4 freshman Alaina Coates had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Alabama fell behind by double digits eight minutes in and could never close the gap. The Gamecocks eventually led 60-31 on Coates foul shots with 13 minutes to go.
Ashley Williams had 16 points to lead the Crimson Tide.
No. 9 NORTH CAROLINA 73, BOSTON COLLEGE 56
BOSTON (AP) - Allisha Gray and Xylina McDaniel scored 16 points apiece to lead North Carolina.
Diamond DeShields added 12 points as the Tar Heels broke the game open in the second half, leading by as many as 21 points, but still came up 14 points under their season scoring average.
The Tar Heels (16-3, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), still playing without coach Sylvia Hatchell - taking time off as she battles leukemia and reportedly in remission - won their fourth straight and 11th in their last 12.
Kelly Hughes led BC (11-8, 2-3) with 13 points, going 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
The Eagles have lost three of their last four and all three were against top 10 teams. BC lost at No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Duke by a combined 63 points, but played the Tar Heels much tougher.
No. 10 KENTUCKY 73, AUBURN 71
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - Jennifer O’Neill scored 16 points, Samarie Walker had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Kentucky overcame a 13-point first-half deficit.
The Wildcats (15-3, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) survived 13-of-29 shooting from the foul line to hold off the Tigers (11-6, 2-2).
Meagan Tucker hit a jumper with 1:07 left to bring Auburn within two points. The Wildcats worked 20 seconds off the clock and then called timeout. O’Neill missed two long jumpers in the final seconds, but Linnae Harper and Walker grabbed the offensive rebounds.
Walker missed two free throws with 6 seconds remaining. Tyrese Tanner, who scored 28 points, rebounded and threw it to Katie Frerking. O’Neill smothered her in the corner and Auburn couldn’t get a final shot off.
Harper also had 13 points for the Wildcats.
Auburn starter Hasina Muhammad missed the game with an unspecified injury.
No. 24 VANDERBILT 79, No. 14 LSU 70
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Jasmine Lister scored 25 points, including a trio of 3-pointers and 10-for-10 shooting from the foul line, to lift Vanderbilt.
Christina Foggie contributed 19 points and Morgan Batey had 11 for Vanderbilt (16-3, 5-1 SEC), which shot 52 percent from the field in toppling its second ranked team in as many weeks.
The Commodores broke open the game in the second half, carving out its first double-digit lead with an 11-4 run fueled by a layup and four free throws from Kylee Smith that made it 48-35 with 12:08 to go. Vandy scored 12 of the next 18 points over the next 4 minutes to build a lead it would protect against an LSU rally down the stretch.
Danielle Ballard led the Lady Tigers (14-4, 3-2) with 23 points and seven rebounds.
No. 16 PENN STATE 66, MIGHIGAN STATE 54
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Dara Taylor scored 18 points, 10 coming at the free throw line, and Penn State handed Michigan State its first Big Ten loss.
Penn State trailed 34-27 at halftime, but outscored Michigan State 24-10 midway through the second half - highlighted by an 11-0 run- for a 51-44 lead. Aerial Powers scored Michigan State’s final eight points and pulled her team to within five points, but Penn State made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute.
Ariel Edwards and Maggie Lucas added 16 apiece for Penn State (13-4, 4-1). The Lady Lions shot just 33.3 percent, but made 26 of 36 free throws compared to 9 of 14 for the Spartans.
Annalise Pickrel scored 17 points for Michigan State (12-6, 4-1) and Klarissa Bell and Powers added 12 each for the Spartans.
VIRGINIA 85, No. 17 FLORIDA STATE 68
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Faith Randolph scored a career-high 26 points and Virginia rolled.
Virginia (9-9, 2-3 ACC) tied its second-highest scoring performance of the season, and jumped to a 47-31 halftime lead behind 20 first-half points from Randolph.
Florida State (14-4, 2-3) never cut the deficit to fewer than 11 points in the second half. The Seminoles committed 27 turnovers compared with 10 for Virginia.
Ataira Franklin had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers while Sarah Imovbioh added 15.
Emiah Bingley scored 21 points to lead the Seminoles. Natasha Howard added 15 points and Kai James had 11.
Virginia played its third straight ranked opponent after falling to No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Duke.
Florida State won 14 of its first 15 games but has dropped its last three, including losses to No. 9 North Carolina and No. 20 North Carolina State.
No. 22 PURDUE 77, No. 18 NEBRASKA 75
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Whitney Bays got a crucial offensive rebound and then made the game-winning putback to lift Purdue past Nebraska.
Purdue (13-5, 3-3 Big Ten) led most of the second half but had to scramble to hold off Nebraska, which tied the game at 75 on a 10-3 run capped by a pair of free throws by Rachel Theriot with 29 seconds to play. The Boilermakers got the ball to April Wilson, who missed her shot on a drive to the hoop, but Bays was there to grab the rebound and sink the winning layup with 1 second to go.
Courtney Moses scored 21 points, Bays added 17 and seven rebounds, KK Houser had 16 points and Wilson had 13 for Purdue, which shot 45 percent from the field and was 10 of 19 from 3-point range.
Theriot led Nebraska (13-4, 3-2) with 19 points.
MIAMI 80, No. 20 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 71
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - Krystal Saunders downed six 3-pointers and scored 22 points in helping Miami upset North Carolina State.
Miami (11-7, 3-2 ACC) led at the break 42-31 as Adrienne Motley (14 points) racked up eight points in the final minutes of the first half. NC State (16-3, 3-2) made no 3-point baskets in the half while the Hurricanes landed six from long range.
Myisha Goodwin-Coleman’s jumper and a layup by Markeisha Gatling moved NC State to within seven of the Hurricanes at 58-51 and set the stage for a comeback attempt by the Wolfpack. But Maria Brown and Krystal Saunders combined to make 6 of 6 from the penalty stripe in the final 45 seconds to seal the victory.
Suriya McGuire scored 12 points and nabbed 10 rebounds for Miami.
Gatling logged 25 points and the Wolfpack has now lost seven games in a row against Miami.
WASHINGTON 81, NO. 21 COLORADO 71
SEATTLE (AP) - Kelsey Plum scored a career-high 35 points and Washington beat its first ranked opponent in six years by upending Colorado.
Washington led 39-27 at halftime, but Colorado opened the second half on a 10-3 run. But Plum scored the Huskies’ next five points to put them up by 10 again. Colorado took its first lead of the second half at 54-53 after a 9-2 run. Plum scored nine straight Washington points to start a 17-2 run and the Huskies led 70-56 with 3:27 left.
Jazmine Davis had 20 points and Aminah Williams added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Washington (10-7, 3-3 Pac-12). The Huskies made 8 of 10 free throws in the final minute.
Arielle Roberson scored 20 points for Colorado (11-6, 1-5), Brittany Wilson added 16 and Jen Reese 13.
No. 25 TEXAS 73, MISSISSIPPI STATE 35
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Courtney Walker scored 16 points and Courtney Williams added 15 more as Texas A&M coasted to remain unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference.
Achiri Ade contributed 14 points and nine rebounds for Texas A&M (15-4, 5-0), which shot 53 percent from the field, blocked 13 shots and enjoyed a 51-29 rebounding advantage. It was the fourth consecutive game that the Aggies have held their opponent to 20 points or less in the first half and extended their win streak to eight.
Mississippi State (14-5, 1-4) scored the opening bucket but trailed the rest of the game, hitting just 12 of 59 (20 percent) from the field, with just two field goals in the final 12 minutes of the game.
Katia May led the Bulldogs with eight points and four assists, while Martha Alwal contributed six points and four rebounds.
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