MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sophie Hart had 18 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 23 Minnesota overpower No. 10 Ohio State 74-61 on Wednesday, the ninth straight win for the Gophers.
Mara Braun had 18 points and nine rebounds with two key jumpers in the closing minutes as Minnesota (21-6, 12-4) moved past Ohio State (22-5, 11-4) into fourth place in the Big Ten. The Gophers, who entered the AP Top 25 this week for the first time this season, are on their longest winning streak in conference play in 22 years.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAmaya Battle added 13 points and 12 rebounds and Grace Grocholski hit four 3-pointers for the Gophers, who outrebounded the Buckeyes 47-32 and had a 32-16 advantage in points in the paint.
Jaloni Cambridge, the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten, had 23 points on 10-for-27 shooting for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes blew a 19-point lead at home in their last game and lost 76-75 to now-No. 14 Maryland, an inauspicious start to a tough five-game finish to the regular season.
Ohio State used a 12-0 run over nearly six minutes in the first half to build a nine-point lead, while Minnesota went 0 for 14 from the field during that stretch.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Gophers never wavered, continuing to feed the 6-foot-5 senior Hart in the post, find their open shooters on the perimeter and take good care of the ball against the full-court press. Minnesota had just nine turnovers and has the fewest in the nation.
NO. 1 UCONN 83, VILLANOVA 69
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Azzi Fudd helped lead a second-half comeback and finished with 25 points, and Sarah Strong scored 21 despite early foul trouble as UConn outlasted Villanova.
The Huskies (28-0, 17-0 Big East) have won 44 consecutive games since last losing 80-76 at Tennessee on Feb. 6 of last year. They ran their winning streak against conference opponents to 64 games, including regular-season and Big East Tournament contests.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUConn had its problems containing speedy Villanova sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe, who led the Wildcats with 26 points.
Denae Carter scored 21 points for the Wildcats (21-6, 14-4), who had their six-game winning streak ended. They remain in second place in the conference. For small consolation, Villanova became the first team this season to lead UConn at halftime, 40-37.
NO. 12 TCU 72, HOUSTON 50
HOUSTON (AP) — Marta Suarez scored 21 points with the help of 5-for-10 shooting from 3-point range and TCU throttled Houston.
Olivia Miles scored 18 points and reserve Veronica Sheffey 11 for TCU (24-4, 12-3 Big 12), which shot just 39% (26 of 66).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKyndall Hunter scored 20 points for Houston (7-19, 1-14) which struggled shooting even more than TCU, finishing at 23% (14 of 60) including 13% (2 of 15) from beyond the 3-point line.
TK Pitts grabbed 11 rebounds for Houston.
TCU built an 11-6 lead through the midway the first quarter and never trailed. The Horned Frogs led 19-8 at the end of one and 41-19 at the half. Houston produced its best offensive quarter in the third shooting 6 of 16 but were still outscored 22-18.
NO. 20 TEXAS TECH 87, NO. 15 BAYLOR 56
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Reserve Snudda Collins scored 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting and 20th-ranked Texas Tech waylaid Baylor.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBailey Maupin scored 22 points with the help of 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range and Gemma Nunez and Sarengbe Sanogo scored 10 apiece for the Lady Raiders (24-4, 11-4 Big 12).
The Lady Raiders shot 56% (34 of 61) overall.
Taliah Scott and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs each scored 13 for Baylor (22-6, 11-4), which shot 36% (20 of 55).
Texas Tech built a 12-6 lead by the midway point of the first quarter and never trailed. Collins made a 3-pointer and followed with a layup to give Texas Tech a 22-12 lead. Scott ended the quarter with a 3 for Baylor.
A 10-2 run highlighted by a pair of Maupin 3s to start the second quarter pushed the advantage to 32-17 with 7:54 left before halftime. Texas Tech went to the half up 48-28.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDespite missing their first five shots to start the third, Texas Tech ended it converting 5 of 6 and led 67-44 at the end of three.
The win marks Texas Tech’s first season sweep over Baylor since the 2003-04 season.
NO. 18 MICHIGAN STATE 104, NORTHWESTERN 68
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Grace VanSlooten scored 22 points and Michigan State cruised past Northwestern.
Michigan State (21-6, 10-6 Big Ten) took control early and broke the game open with a 32-14 second quarter to build a 55-28 halftime lead. The Spartans shot 53% overall from the field and made 13 of 26 (50%) from 3-point range while extending the margin beyond 25 early in the second half.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNorthwestern (8-18, 2-13) showed some offensive life after the break behind Grace Sullivan, but Michigan State answered each push. A 3-pointer by Sara Sambolic and consecutive baskets from Jalyn Brown and VanSlooten helped stretch the lead to 94-60 midway through the fourth quarter, and late 3-pointers pushed the Spartans past the 100-point mark.
Kennedy Blair added 17 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and five steals for Michigan State, and Brown finished with 15 points and five assists. Marah Dykstra provided 14 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers, and Sambolic scored 13 points with six assists. Michigan State recorded 29 assists on 39 made field goals.
Sullivan led Northwestern with 23 points on 11-of-20 shooting. Casey Harter added 14 points and six rebounds, and Caroline Lau contributed 10 assists, nine points and seven rebounds.
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