INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Sarah Strong scored 15 points, Azzi Fudd added 13 and No. 1 UConn extended its winning streak to 29 games with a 94-47 victory over Butler on Sunday.
UConn (13-0, 4-0 Big East Conference), the defending national champion, has not lost a game since an 80-76 defeat at then-No. 19 Tennessee on Feb. 6, and has won 51 straight against Big East opponents. The Huskies are off to their best start since 2017-18, when they won their first 36 games before a 91-89 overtime loss to Notre Dame in the national championship game.
Strong finished with seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. Blanca Quinonez added 12 points for the Huskies.
Caroline Dotsey and Addison Baxter scored 10 points apiece for Butler (7-7, 1-3).
The Bulldogs went scoreless for nearly 10 minutes as six UConn players scored in a 27-0 run that made it 33-10 when Kayleigh Heckel hit a 3-pointer that capped the spurt about 2 1/2 minutes into the second quarter. Butler went 0 for 11 from the field and committed 10 turnovers during that span.
Baxter made two free throws with 7:11 left in the first half to end Butler’s scoring drought, but the Huskies answered with 12 consecutive points that made it 45-12 with 3:32 to go until halftime. KK Arnold’s free throw 48 seconds later gave UConn a 35-point lead.
NO. 2 TEXAS 120, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 38
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Senior Kyla Oldacre scored a career-high 22 points and Madison Booker added 20 to help No. 2 Texas finish its non-conference schedule undefeated with a victory over Southeastern Louisiana.
Texas (15-0) has won 34 straight home games. First-half scoring bursts of 26-0 and 21-0 secured the victory early.
The Longhorns scored 68 points in the paint against an opponent that used no player taller than six feet in its rotation. The 6-6 Oldacre hit 9 of 10 shots from the field and 4 of 5 free throws in 19 minutes off the bench.
A starting lineup that includes four guards did not help the Lady Lions avoid ball-handling and passing mistakes. They committed 30 turnovers that Texas converted into 50 points. Twenty turnovers came in the first half before Texas pulled out of its full-court defense.
Jordan Lee scored 16 for Texas, including four 3-pointers. Breya Cunningham and Bryanna Preston each scored 12, with Preston also producing three of the Longhorns’ 16 steals. Rori Harmon had six assists and no turnovers, increasing her string to 57 and three over the last six games.
Eryn McKinzie led Southeastern Louisiana (2-8) with 13 points. The 38 points scored by the Lady Lions is their second-lowest production this season. They lost to LSU 115-26 on Nov. 6.
NO. 3 SOUTH CAROLINA 96, PROVIDENCE 55
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Tessa Johnson and Madina Okot each scored 18 points to lead South Carolina over Providence, but the Gamecocks also lost guard Ta’Niya Latson to injury.
Latson, South Carolina’s second-leading scorer who led the country in points per game last season, left in the second quarter after injuring her left foot at Colonial Life Arena. She was helped off the court with no weight on the foot.
Coach Dawn Staley had no immediate update after the game.
Latson had 10 points when she departed. The Gamecocks (13-1) out-scored the Friars (8-6) on a day where their defense wasn’t great but they had more than enough points to win.
Johnson hit five 3-pointers. Okot notched her 10th double-double, tying her with Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers for the most in the country.
Sabou Gueye led Providence with 16 points.
NO. 4 UCLA 82, NO. 19 OHIO STATE 75
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Lauren Betts had 18 points and 16 rebounds as UCLA extended its winning streak to six games with a win over Ohio State.
Kiki Rice added 16 points and Angela Dugalic scored 15 as UCLA (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten) beat the Buckeyes for the fourth straight time, dating to December 2023.
Jaloni Cambridge led all scorers with 28 points, and Elsa Lemmila added 13 points and seven rebounds for Ohio State (11-2, 1-1) which had its nine-game winning streak halted in its conference home opener.
The Bruins built a 76–60 lead midway through the fourth quarter before Ohio State closed the gap behind strong defense and key late baskets from Cambridge, T’yana Todd and Chance Gray. The Buckeyes closed within six points with about two minutes remaining, but got no closer.
UCLA outrebounded Ohio State 47–33, including a 19–10 edge on the offensive end that led to a 35–10 advantage in second-chance points. Betts anchored the Bruins in the paint as UCLA outscored the Buckeyes 50–32 inside.
Ohio State struggled from 3-point range in the first half, missing its first 11 attempts before Lemmila connected with 3:43 left in the second quarter. The Buckeyes found some rhythm in the third quarter, hitting six 3-pointers, and finished 7 of 30 (23%) from beyond the arc.
NO. 5 LSU 109, ALABAMA ST. 41
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Kate Koval scored a season-high 23 points and collected 11 rebounds to spark LSU to a victory over Alabama State in the nonconference finale for both teams.
The Tigers (14-0) finished their nonconference schedule unbeaten for the third time in LSU coach Kim Mulkey’s five seasons.
LSU, which leads the nation in scoring (108 points per game) and victory margin (55.4 ppg), has scored 100 or more points 11 times this season. The Tigers’ 93-77 road win over the Blue Devils on Dec. 4 was their closest victory margin of the season.
In addition to Koval’s fifth double-double of the season, Amiya Joyner had 19 points, ZaKiyah Johnson 17, Bella Hines 13 and MiKaylah Williams 11.
Alabama State (3-8) was led by Alanah Pooler, who had eight points and six rebounds.
NO. 11 KENTUCKY 80, HOFSTRA 42
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Clara Strack had 24 points and 11 rebounds, leading Kentucky’s rout of Hofstra at Historic Memorial Coliseum where the Wildcats are 15-0 the past two seasons.
Strack also had seven blocked shots, one shy of the program record she set last season against Ole Miss.
Amelia Hassett scored 18 points and Asia Boone 11 for the Wildcats (13-1).
Led by Tonie Morgan with 10 assists and Boone with eight, Kentucky had 27 assists on 31 made baskets.
The Wildcats led 26-15 through one quarter after shooting 67%. Their only misses were on 5 of their 9 3-point tries, and their first two-point miss came with 7:15 left in the second quarter. Kentucky outscored Hofstra 16-6 in the second for a 42-21 halftime lead. Strack led the way with 14 points and seven rebounds in the first half.
The third quarter was even more one-sided as Kentucky finished on a 19-3 run which led to a 29-9 advantage for the period. Hofstra had a slight 12-9 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.
Chloe Sterling led the Pride (2-9) with 16 points.
Kentucky has won six in a row since a 74-66 loss to No. 7 Maryland on Nov. 26.
NO. 12 VANDERBILT 109, STONEHILL 50
Mikayla Blakes racked up 21 points and dished seven assists, Aiyana Mitchell added 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting, and Vanderbilt rolled past Stonehill.
The Commodores finished their nonconference slate at a perfect 13-0, their third-best start in program history. They were last 13-0 or better in the 1995-96 season, when they began 14-0.
Vanderbilt had four other players join Blakes and Mitchell in double figures, with Sacha Washington scoring 14 and Jada Brown, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, and Justine Pissott each tallying 12.
Blakes and Aubrey Galvan each dished out seven assists and grabbed five steals. Brown had a game-high six steals as the Commodores forced 35 turnovers and scored 46 points off of them.
Vanderbilt was dominant in the paint, scoring 64 of their points beneath the basket. They led for all but the first 49 seconds of the contest, and carried a 60-17 lead into halftime.
NO. 14 IOWA 99, PENN ST. 76
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ava Heiden scored a career-high 27 points to lead six Hawkeyes in double figures and Iowa cruised to a victory over Penn State.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore made 13 of 19 shots and her only free throw for the Hawkeyes (11-2, 2-0), who bounced back from a 90-64 loss to No. 1 Connecticut. Heiden also grabbed nine rebounds, playing 27 minutes.
Chazadi Wright had 16 points and six assists for Iowa. Taylor Stremlow and Hannah Stuelke both scored 14 with Stuelke adding eight rebounds. Reserve Addison Deal had 13 points and freshman Journey Houston pitched in with 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for her first double-double.
Freshman Tea Cleante had 21 points and sophomore Kiyomi McMiller scored 20 to pace the Nittany Lions (7-6, 0-2), who have lost two in a row and five of their last six. Gracie Merkle totaled 18 points, 11 rebounds and six of her team’s 20 turnovers.
NO. 15 MISSISSIPPI 64, ALCORN STATE 44
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Cotie McMahon scored 21 points, and Ole Miss pulled away in the second half to defeat Alcorn State.
The No. 15 Rebels used a decisive third quarter to create separation, outscoring Alcorn State 20-5 after taking a six-point lead into halftime. Ole Miss maintained control the rest of the way and never allowed the Lady Braves to cut the margin to single digits in the fourth quarter.
Latasha Lattimore added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Ole Miss, which improved to 13-2 and remains unbeaten at home. Sira Thienou finished with nine points and nine rebounds as the Rebels held Alcorn State to 31% shooting.
Ole Miss led 48-35 entering the fourth and extended the advantage early at the free-throw line. Alcorn State struggled to generate consistent offense down the stretch, committing multiple turnovers as Ole Miss made 29 of 38 free throws to ice the game.
The Rebels struggled from behind the arc, finishing 1-11 (9%), but held a 39-31 rebounding edge and forced 25 turnovers.
NO. 24 MICHIGAN STATE 70, RUTGERS 64
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Rashunda Jones scored four of her 14 points in the final 28 seconds and Kennedy Blair posted a double-double to help Michigan State hold off Rutgers in the Spartans’ Big Ten Conference home opener.
Kaylah Ivey hit a 3-pointer to get Rutgers within a point, but Jones hit a short jumper and then added two free throws following a Scarlet Knights turnover to help the Spartans (12-1, 1-1) prevail in their first home game in five weeks after going 5-1 on a lengthy road trip.
Blair filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Inés Sotelo scored 12 with five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Nene Ndiaye led the Scarlet Knights (8-5, 0-2) with 16 points and six rebounds before fouling out with 4:15 remaining. Faith Blackstone totaled 15 points and seven rebounds. Imani Lester added 11 points and Ivey scored 10 with five assists.
Michigan State took a five-point lead before going scoreless over the final 2:24 of the first quarter. Blackstone sank a 3-pointer and two free throws, scoring the final five points to tie it 15-all.
Sotelo had the first two baskets of the second quarter to ignite an 11-0 run for the Spartans. Ndiaye’s layup with 1:45 to go was the final basket of the half and the Scarlet Knights trailed 32-27.
Lester had seven points in the third quarter and Rutgers outscored the Spartans by two to cut it to 52-49.
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