Lauren Betts recorded 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as No. 3 UCLA earned a 78-60 win over No. 11 North Carolina in a nonconference game on Thursday in Las Vegas.
The Tar Heels led early in the third quarter, but the Bruins wound up with a 23-12 scoring edge in the period to take the lead for good. UCLA scored the last 10 points of the third to go up 58-56 on a jumper by Kiki Rice, and North Carolina never got the margin into single figures in the fourth quarter.
Rice added 15 points and 10 rebounds for UCLA (4-0). Angela Dugalic contributed 14 points and eight boards, and Gabriela Jaquez registered 12 points and eight rebounds.
Elina Aarnisalo led North Carolina (2-1) with 13 points, but she shot 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Ciera Toomey and Indya Nivar added 11 points apiece.
No. 9 Maryland 88, Towson 70
Addi Mack scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half as the Terrapins downed the Tigers in College Park, Md.
Kaylene Smikle added 13 points for Maryland (4-0), which led by 28 points at halftime and by at least 16 for the entire second half. Oluchi Okananwa, Yarden Garzon and Breanna Williams contributed 10 points apiece.
India Johnston logged 23 points and Thalia Shepard scored 20 for Towson (2-2). Zoli Khalil finished with 10 points.
No. 12 Tennessee 68, Belmont 58
Kaniya Boyd sank a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:58 to play as the Lady Vols rallied for a win over the Bruins in Knoxville, Tenn.
Belmont led 56-54 after Tuti Jones made 1 of 2 free throws with just under five minutes to go. A tip-in from Tennessee’s Deniya Prawl tied the score and started a game-changing 10-0 run. Talaysia Cooper hit 1 of 2 foul shots with 1:01 remaining, giving the Lady Vols a 64-56 advantage.
Cooper paced Tennessee (3-1) with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Janiah Barker added 11 points for the Lady Vols, and Zee Spearman had 10 points and eight boards. Belmont (1-2) got 14 points from Avery Strickland, 13 from Jailyn Banks and 10 from Hilary Fuller.
No. 21 Iowa 100, Drake 58
Six players scored in double figures for the Hawkeyes in a one-sided win over the Bulldogs in Iowa City.
Chazadi Wright sank four 3-pointers, and she, Layla Hays and Ava Heiden each had 14 points for Iowa (3-0). Hays added a game-high 10 rebounds for the Hawkeyes, who made 53.9% of their field-goal attempts and limited Drake to 36.1%.
Grace Knutson put up 19 points for the Bulldogs (1-2). Abbie Aalsma added 16 and Peyton McCabe scored 10.
–Field Level Media
