WACO, Texas (AP) - NaLyssa Smith and preseason AP All-America post Lauren Cox had double-doubles for No. 2 Baylor and the defending national champion Lady Bears opened the season with a 97-29 win over New Hampshire on Tuesday night.
Smith had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Bears, while Cox had 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting with 10 rebounds. Erin DeGrate, a transfer from Texas Tech who previously played for Louisville, had 18 points in her Baylor debut, and Queen Egbo had 14 points.
The Lady Bears got their championship rings and raised a third national title banner in a pregame ceremony, then scored the game’s first 37 points.
Baylor led 51-3 at halftime, the fewest points scored in a half by a Lady Bears opponent, but not the lowest for a Division I team. Western Kentucky had a 56-2 halftime lead over Lipscomb three seasons ago, a game the Hilltoppers won 87-35.
New Hampshire missed its first 18 shots and didn’t score until Maggie Ahearn’s bounce pass to Caroline Soucy for a layup with 6:15 left in the second quarter.
Amanda Torres led the Wildcats with 12 points.
NO. 3 STANFORD 92, EASTERN WASHINGTON 27
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Freshman Francesca Belibi had 12 points and 15 rebounds in helping Stanford win its 21st consecutive home opener.
Freshman Hannah Jump hit four consecutive 3-pointers and scored 12 points for the Cardinal, who improved to 34-12 in season openers. Ashten Prechtel scored 15 points, Kiana Williams added 11 points and Lexie Hull had 10.
Kennedy Dickie scored seven points to lead the Eagles, who have never beaten a ranked opponent.
NO. 4 MARYLAND 119, WAGNER 56
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Kaila Charles had 18 points and Stephanie Jones had 17 as Maryland fell two points shy of its all-time scoring record against Wagner.
Shakira Austin and Ashley Owusu each added 16 for Maryland, which scored 121 points against Drexel on Dec. 1, 1992.
Wagner freshman Alex Cowan had 25 points and Emilija Krista Grava added 20.
No. 6 TEXAS A&M 78, LITTLE ROCK 35
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Ciera Johnson had 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Texas A&M overwhelmed Little Rock.
The Aggies shot 48% (31 of 65) from the field compared to 28% (16 of 57) for the Trojans.
SEC preseason player of the year Chennedy Carter had 10 points at the half and finished with 16 on 7-of-17 shooting for the Aggies.
Kyra Collier led the Trojans with 13 points and was the only Little Rock player to reach double digits.
NO. 8 SOUTH CAROLINA 103, ALABAMA STATE 43
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Freshman Aliyah Boston had a triple-double in her South Carolina debut and a rout over Alabama State.
Boston finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks.
Boston’s triple-double was the seventh in South Carolina history and the first by a freshman.
Zia Cooke scored 13 points in 24 minutes, Brea Beal had four points in 17 minutes and Laeticia Amihere scored six in 14 minutes as she recovers from a knee injury suffered in January. Even the least heralded of the freshman, Oliva Thompson from nearby Lexington, got into the action, scoring 10 points.
Senior Mikiah Herbert Harrigan had 13 points for the Gamecocks.
Ayana Emmanuel led Alabama State with nine points.
NO. 9 LOUISVILLE 75, WESTERN KENTUCKY 56
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Dana Evans had 19 points and Elizabeth Balogun and Elizabeth Dixon combined for 25 points and 17 rebounds in their Louisville debuts.
Balogun had 15 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter as Louisville made its first seven shots. Dixon added 13 rebounds, 10 rebounds and a block.
Bionca Dunham added 10 points while Jazmine Jones had 10 assists, eight points and eight boards.
Sherry Porter had 15 points, Dee Givens 13 in the second half and Whitney Creech 10 for the Hilltoppers, who shot just 33% (19 of 57) from the field.
NO. 11 UCLA 85, WEBER STATE 45
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Freshman Charisma Osborne scored 17 points, Michaela Onyenwere added 16 and UCLA cruised past Weber State.
Osborne scored the first five points of the season and an Onyenwere jumper put the Bruins up 12-0.
Lindsey Corsaro added 14 points and Kiara Jefferson had 12 off the bench for the Bruins. Reserve Kayla Owens had 13 rebounds.
Ula Chamberlin had 15 points for the Wildcats, and her teammates combined to go 10 for 39. Weber State had 26 turnovers and UCLA converted those into 27 points.
NO. 12 FLORIDA STATE 88, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 36
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Nicki Ekhomu scored 18 points, Kia Gillespie had a double-double and to lead Florida State.
Gillespie had 12 points and 10 rebounds for her 14th career double-double and Morgan Jones had 14 points, while River Baldwin scored 13 for the Seminoles
Charleston Southern shot 25.5 percent and was outrebounded 51-21. No player reached double figures or had more than four rebounds.
NO. 13 KENTUCKY 67, MT. ST. MARY’S 44
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Rhyne Howard had 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as Kentucky beat Mt. St. Mary’s.
Jaida Roper added 13 points and Tatyana Wyatt 10 for the Wildcats, who have won 11 season openers in a row and are 38-8 all-time in openers.
For the game, the Mountaineers shot 28% and committed 28 turnovers. They were 10 of 27 from distance. Kentucky shot 33 percent, had a 13-point advantage from the foul line and only committed 12 turnovers.
NO. 16 NOTRE DAME 60, FORDHAM 55
NEW YORK (AP) - Freshmen Sam Brunelle and Anaya Peoples scored in double figures in their Notre Dame debut, Katlyn Gilbert added 14 and the Irish held off Fordham.
Brunelle scored 14 points, Peoples had 11 and Destinee Walker 10 in the 1,000th victory for the Notre Dame program - which was runner-up to Baylor in last year’s national championship game - and the 26th consecutive victory in a season opener.
Notre Dame had a two-point lead, 57-55, with 11 seconds remaining. The Irish made 3 of 6 free throws, keeping possession with a rebound and a steal.
Notre Dame played without sophomore guard Abby Prohaska, who announced via Twitter on Monday that she has blood clots in both lungs. She is out indefinitely.
NO. 17 MICHIGAN STATE 85, EASTERN MICHIGAN 50
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Nia Clouden scored 23 points and Michigan State scored the first 28 second-half points to pull away from Eastern Michigan.
Freshman Alyza Winston had 12 points and Taryn McCutcheon and Tory Ozment scored 10 apiece for Michigan State.
Corrione Cardwell had 13 points for the Eagles and was the lone Eastern Michigan player to score in double figures.
NO. 20 ARIZONA STATE 87, AIR FORCE 56
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Jamie Ruden scored 14 points, Ja’Tavia Tapley had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Arizona State beat Air Force.
Jayde Van Hyfte and Sara Bejedi scored 12 points apiece for Arizona State.
Air Force’s Allyah Marlett
Arizona State made 20 of 32 (73.3 from the field in the second half and shot 54% overall.
Kamri Heath lead Air Force with 16 points and Emily Conroe added 12 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 21 SYRACUSE 66, OHIO 54
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Kiara Lewis scored 16 points and Gabrielle Cooper and Taleah Washington had 10 each as Syracuse rallied from a 14-point first-quarter deficit.
Lewis had nine rebounds and eight assists. Amaya Finklea-Guity added nine points and nine boards.
Cierra Hooks scored 17 points with nine rebounds to lead the Bobcats. Amani
MISSOURI STATE 77, NO. 23 MINNESOTA 69
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Junior Brice Calip scored a career-high 21 points, Jasmine Franklin had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Missouri State gave Amaka Agugua-Hamilton her first victory as coach of the Lady Bears.
Alexa Willard added 13 points for Missouri State and Calip topped her previous high of 19 points.
Destiny Pitts, the Big Ten freshman of the year in 2017-18, led Minnesota with 18 points after making her first six 3-point attempts. Jasmine Brunson added 14 points and Taiye Bello 13. Starter Gadiva Hubbard, who missed all of last season due to surgery on her right foot, was held to two points in 20 minutes.
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