NEW YORK (AP) - One streak ended while another one just keeps going and going and going.
Clemson snapped its 41-game losing streak in ACC play with a 62-61 win over Georgia Tech on Sunday. The Tigers hadn’t won a conference game since Jan. 2, 2015 when they topped Virginia Tech in overtime. Clemson lost 39 regular season games and two ACC tournament games between that victory and Sunday’s.
“I am so proud of the belief and fight in our players,” Clemson coach Audra Smith said. “They continued to believe in themselves, each other and the process.”
The win isn’t a total surprise as Clemson won its first eight games of this season - the program’s best start since 1998-99.
While Clemson finally earned a conference victory, UConn just keeps rolling. The Huskies won their 95th consecutive game Saturday, routing Houston. They are two weeks away from their game against No. 5 South Carolina on Feb. 13 that would be for a 100th straight win.
UConn’s last loss came against Stanford and coach Tara VanDerveer back in 2014. The Hall of Famer now stands one victory away from becoming the second women’s coach to reach 1,000 victories after rallying from an 18-point first-half deficit to beat No. 7 Washington 72-68 on Sunday night. Only Pat Summitt has achieved that milestone.
“Might have been one of the harder ones,” VanDerveer said of Sunday’s victory. “That’s a number I’ll remember up here.”
VanDerveer’s team had to overcome a 44-point effort from Kelsey Plum. She moved into third place in the NCAA career scoring list before fouling out in the closing seconds.
“Graduation for Kelsey Plum doesn’t come soon enough for me,” VanDerveer said.
The largest crowd ever to see a Washington women’s basketball home game - a sellout of 10,000 - included Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
Other things that happened this week:
NEVER ENDING GAME: Columbia came away with a 91-88 victory over Dartmouth in four overtimes on Friday night. It was the first game in league history to go that long. Down four with 10 seconds remaining in the third overtime, Columbia senior Tori Oliver hit two free throws and the Lions fouled Dartmouth’s Emily Slagle. Slagle hit 1 of 2 to make it a 3-point game and give the Lions one last chance. Sophomore Emily Surloff took advantage by sinking a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the game with less than one second to go.
Columbia (11-5, 1-2 Ivy) took the momentum into the fourth OT, scoring the first four points and never trailing. Still, Dartmouth (5-11, 0-3 Ivy) had one last chance to tie the game, but a shot from just beyond half court bounced off the rim.
“We came together and won this game as a team, which I’m really proud of,” said first-year head coach Megan Griffith, who earned her first Ivy League victory. “There were some big performances, but everybody did a little bit to get us to where we needed to be at the end. I’m so proud of this team.”
STILL UNBEATEN: Drake took over sole possession of the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference with an 88-79 double-OT win over Northern Iowa on Friday night.
Drake moved a half-game in front of UNI and stayed undefeated in the conference with a 9-0 record. The two overtimes made for the longest game in the series between the two schools since a four-overtime contest on Jan. 23, 1992 that Drake won 112-106.
SEEING TRIPLE: Baylor senior Alexis Jones had the first points-rebounds-assists triple-double in Lady Bears history against Oklahoma on Sunday with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. It’s the school’s first triple-double since Brittney Griner had 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against West Virginia on March 2, 2013.
RING OF HONOR: Former Notre Dame All-American Beth Morgan (Cunningham) was inducted into the Irish ring of honor during a ceremony after the game. Morgan is second on Notre Dame’s career scoring list with 2,322 points and helped lead the Irish to their first Final Four in 1997. Morgan, currently an assistant coach with the team, is the fourth women’s player inducted into Notre Dame’s ring of honor, joining Skylar Diggins, Niele Ivey and Ruth Riley.
TIP-INS: Notre Dame guard Lindsay Allen had her third consecutive game with 10 or more assists, becoming the first Irish player to do that since 1988. … Baylor freshman Lauren Cox was honored before the Lady Bears game with the Hero Award by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Dallas for sharing her story about having Type 1 Diabetes. She was diagnosed with the disease at age 7 and the team wore shirts to support the cause.
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