Sarah Strong’s game-high 22 points and seven rebounds led top-ranked UConn in an 89-53 romp over Big East Conference counterpart Marquette on Wednesday in Storrs, Conn.
The Huskies (11-0, 3-0 Big East) took control early with first-quarter runs of 11-3 and 15-4, building a 15-point cushion by the end of the period. Strong scored half of her points in the opening period, including two of her three made 3-pointers.
Azzi Fudd made another pair of 3-pointers on four shots en route to 14 points, and Blanca Quinonez shot 2-of-4 from beyond the arc on the way to 12 points off the bench. UConn shot 7-of-14 from deep overall and 38-of-64 from the floor while limiting Marquette to 21-of-55 shooting and forcing 21 turnovers.
Skylar Forbers was the only Golden Eagle to reach double-figures in points, scoring 17 to lead Marquette (7-4, 2-1).
No. 2 Texas 96, Northwestern State 38
Madison Booker’s third consecutive game with at least 27 points led the Longhorns in a blowout of the Lady Demons in Austin, Texas.
Booker, coming off recent outings of 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists vs. nationally ranked Baylor and a 28-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double vs. UT Rio Grande Valley, scored 28 for the Longhorns (13-0).
Her 12-of-17 shooting from the floor led Texas to a 39-of-69 team performance from the field, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. Jordan Lee led the Longhorns’ outside shooting at 3-of-5, on her way to 15 points. Vernell Atamah’s 12 points led Northwestern State (5-5) but fell more than nine points short of her season average.
No. 14 Ole Miss 102, Mississippi Valley State 34
Cotie McMahon scored 24 points, Christeen Iwuala posted a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double and the Rebels cruised in a rout of the Devilettes in Oxford, Miss.
Ole Miss (11-1) held Mississippi Valley State without a point for more than six minutes, building a 19-2 lead by the early second quarter.
The Devilettes (1-9) rallied to score 21 second-quarter points and pull to within 14, but the Rebels reasserted their defense and held them to just 11 points in the second half. Three Rebels came off the bench to score in double figures: Jayla Murray with 13 points, Tianna Thompson with 12 points and Kaitlin Peterson with 10 points.
No. 16 Louisville 76, Eastern Kentucky 51
All 12 players who saw the floor in the second half for the Cardinals scored as the hosts rallied from a first-half deficit to beat the Colonels.
The Cardinals (11-3) shot just 12-of-34 from the floor in the first half, including 1-of-10 from 3-point range, while Eastern Kentucky knocked down 4-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc to go into intermission down just 30-27.
Louisville scored the first 11 points out of the break, including five from Tajianna Roberts on her way to a game-high 12 points, and the Cardinals controlled things from there. Laura Ziegler added 11 points and seven rebounds for Louisville. Althea Kara Angeles scored 10 points to lead Eastern Kentucky (7-4).
No. 18 North Carolina 84, UNC Wilmington 34
Nyla Brooks came off the bench to score 16 points, leading six Tar Heels with at least eight points in a rout of the visiting Seahawks in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Brooks capped the first quarter and opened the second with a 3-pointer, part of a 25-6 onslaught that laid the foundation for the Tar Heels (10-3). North Carolina made 11 of 32 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, producing almost as many points from long distance as UNCW (3-6) managed in total.
Indya Nivar added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels. The Seahawks, who missed 13 of their 14 shots from 3-point range and went 14-of-56 from the field overall, had no scorers reach double figures.
–Field Level Media
