Freshman Sarah Strong scored a season-high 22 points as No. 2 UConn pulled away from Holy Cross on Tuesday night in an 88-52 victory in Storrs, Conn.
Strong added seven rebounds for the Huskies (7-0). Kaitlyn Chen contributed 14 points and seven assists; Paige Bueckers had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists; and Azzi Fudd scored seven points in her first start since 2023.
Lindsay Berger had 12 points for Holy Cross (4-4), while Kaitlyn Flanagan added 10 points.
The Crusaders kept things close in the first quarter, ending it down just a point. Holy Cross trailed by just six points at halftime. UConn began to pull away in the third frame, breaking off a 10-0 run to go ahead by 14 points. Fudd capped off that stretch by swishing a 3-pointer on a feed from Ice Brady.
No. 6 USC 94, California Baptist 52
JuJu Watkins scored a season-high 40 points as the Trojans easily beat the Lancers in Los Angeles.
It marked the third time in her career that Watkins, a sophomore, scored at least 40 points. She shot 12-for-18 from the floor and 9-for-11 from 3-point range while also grabbing six rebounds for USC (7-1). Kiki Iriafen had 18 points and 10 rebounds,.
Grace Schmidt led California Baptist (0-9) with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Claudia Fiel added 10 points. The Trojans never trailed and outshot the Lancers 52.5 percent to 32.2 percent.
No. 7 Maryland 87, Mount St. Mary’s 52
Christina Dalce scored 13 points as the Terrapins raced away from the Mountaineers in College Park, Md.
Dalce hit 5 of 6 shots from the floor in just 17 minutes of action and was one of five players to scored in double figures for Maryland (9-0). Allie Kubek and Shyanne Sellers each had 12 points and five rebounds, Saylor Poffenbarger had 10 points and seven boards, and Kaylene Smikle added 10 points.
Maryland led wire-to-wire and the result marks their best undefeated start to a season since 2018-19. Winless Mount St. Mary’s (0-6) was led by Jo Raflo’s 10 points.
No. 13 Kansas State 90, Eastern Illinois 43
Zyanna Walker had 16 points and 10 assists as the Wildcats poured it on the Panthers in Manhattan, Kan.
Walker also had four rebounds and four steals to lead Kansas State (8-1) to its third straight win since losing to then-No. 13 Duke a week ago. Ayoka Lee added 15 points for the Wildcats, and she became the Wildcats’ all-time leading scorer with 2,336 career points. Serena Sundell notched her 600th assist, the second player in program history to hit that mark.
Kiyley Flowers put up nine points for Eastern Illinois (2-5), which never led and trailed by as much as 49 points.
No. 20 Iowa State 92, South Carolina Upstate 35
Audi Crooks tallied 15 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as the Cyclones routed the Spartans in Ames, Iowa.
Addy Brown put up 14 points for Iowa State (7-2), Aili Tanke scored 12 and Kelsey Joens added 11. All 12 players who saw the floor for the Cyclones scored.
Jeni Levine paced South Carolina Upstate (2-8) with nine points.
No. 25 Nebraska 69, Lindenwood 48
Alexis Markowski amassed 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Cornhuskers comfortably beat the Lions in Lincoln, Neb.
Markowski also blocked four shots in the lopsided victory for Nebraska (7-1). Britt Prince added 14 points for the Cornhuskers, Callin Hake had 12, and Petra Bozan chipped in 10. Nebraska forced Lindenwood into 19 turnovers.
Ellie Brueggemann led the Lions (4-3) with nine points and grabbed six rebounds.
–Field Level Media
