Womhoops Guru

Mel Greenberg covered college and professional women’s basketball for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he worked for 40 plus years. Greenberg pioneered national coverage of the game, including the original Top 25 women's college poll. His knowledge has earned him nicknames such as "The Guru" and "The Godfather," as well as induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Monday, January 05, 2026

The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW Roundup: Villanova’s 10-Game Win Streak Ends at Marquette as Locals Are 0-5; No. 12 Vanderbilt Hands No. 5 LSU Its 2nd Straight Loss While No. 22 Baylor Edges No. 10 Iowa State

 By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA – In assortment of ways here at Drexel and in four other local games it was wipeout Sunday with all five teams going down to defeat.

Nationally, more unbeaten teams continued to part with their perfect records reducing the total remaining to just four and when the 50th anniversary season of the Associated Press women’s poll resumes Monday at noon with the latest rankings after a rare week’s hiatus due to just one day of games at the end of the Christmas break there will be a major change within the Top 10 after half suffered losses since the arrival of 2026 on Thursday.

As for the local part of the roundup first, Drexel, which had a bye Friday on the opening night of of Coastal Athletic Association play extending the Dragons’ time off from their last action, hosting the Campbell Camels Sunday afternoon, the home team in the Daskalakis Athletic Center could not get over the hump from an early deficit and lost 62-51.

The visitors (8-7, 1-1) dominated the paint 22-16 and the boards 35-26 as Campbell’s Olivia Tucker scored 18 points, and Jasmine Nivar and Gianni Boone each scored 15 points.

Drexel led by Amaris Baker with 22 points struggled elsewhere to score with Molly Rullo, the other Dragon in double figures with 12 points, but Deja Evans was held to just four points and Laine McGurk seven.

The Camels answered every time the Dragons rallied close over a long haul in which Drexel would avoid going down in deep double digits but then could not finish the job moving within the lead.

“Obviously, disappointed with the loss, we knew it was going to be a battle but a lot to learn before our next games,” said Drexel coach Amy Mallon, whose team is at Stony Brook on Long Island Friday night and then returns here Sunday hosting Hofstra next weekend.

Rullo, a freshman guard from Cardinal O’Hara, made her first career start.

“One of the reasons she’s in that lineup now, is she’s showing she’s capable of scoring for us,” Mallon said. “She showed today she’s capable of stepping up and taking shots when we need her.”

Elsewhere, Villanova’s 10-game winning streak came to a surprising end as the Wildcats (12-3, 5-1) suffered their first loss in the Big East falling 85-69 at Marquette (10-5, 4-2) in Milwaukee.

The visitors went nine down at 23-14 after the first period, got three points closer by the half, then suffered a 10-point 19-9 deficit to the Golden Eagles in the third before playing even over the final 10 minutes.

Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe scored 20 points, Kennedy Henry scored 15 and reserve Dani Ceseretti had a career-high 12 points with five rebounds and four assists.

Marquette’s attack was explosive with Halle Vice scoring a career-high 32 points with 11 rebounds, while Jaidynn Mason and Skylar Forbes each scored 20 points.

Villanova comes home for the annual Education Day game Thursday at 11:30 a.m. hosting Xavier at Finneran Pavilion.

In the Big Ten, Rutgers (8-7, 0-4) lost on the road to No. 19 Ohio State 71-49 in Columbus as the Buckeyes (13-2, 3-1) pulled away in the second half.

Jaloni Cambridge had 18 points for the winners, who also got 17 from Chance Gray while Elsa Lemmila had 10 points and 11 boards for the sophomore’s second career double double.

Rutgers’ Faith Blackstone scored 15 points and Imani Lester scored 14.

The Scarlet Knights host No. 7 Maryland on Thursday at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J. at 7 p.m.

Penn State (7-8, 0-4), meanwhile, who has struggled to win in the Big Ten all last season and early in the current one fell just a point short at Wisconsin losing 74-73 to the Badgers (11-4, 3-1) in Madison.

Rutgers transfer Kiyomi McMiller scored a career-high 36 points for the visiting Lady Lions, making 3-of-4 from deep, while Gracie Merkle scored 12 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the field.

Amiya Evans grabbed 12 rebounds.

Penn State got within a point at the end on McMiller’s three-pointer with two seconds left.

Next up is a visit Thursday from No. 6 Michigan, whose ranking number will have changed Monday off the upset loss at Washington, in Rec Hall at 6 p.m. on the B1G+ streaming the game at University Park.

Delaware (6-8, 0-2) did one point better in regulation than Penn State in terms of score differential but that was only good enough to get into overtime where the Blue Hens fell 64-57 at New Mexico State (5-9, 1-1) and finished getting swept their debut weekend in Conference USA occurring on the road.

Ande’a Cherisier had 12 points and 11 boards for Delaware, Trinity Vance scored 11, and Safi Kolliegbo scored 10.

Next up comes a visit for the Blue Hens’ home debut in CUSA at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark Thursday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) from Louisiana Tech.

None of the 13 locals are scheduled Monday and just Temple is playing Tuesday, visiting Wichita State trying to even the early American Conference slate at 1-1.

The National Scene

The early fireworks with the plunge into conference play that occurred with the arrival of 2026 on Thursday continued Sunday, especially in the SEC and Big 12 though below the Top 10 the ACC also had a few highlights.

In the SEC, No. 5 LSU, which had been putting up triple digit on weak non-conference opponents, suffered its second straight loss, after a home buzzer-beater to No. 11 Kentucky, the Tigers (14-2, 0-2) were held to their lowest scoring total on the season, falling 65-61 to No. 12 Vanderbilt (15-0, 2-0) in Nashville, an outcome likely to send both teams who pulled upsets into the Top 10 for the first time in a while when the new poll comes out at noon Monday.

It’s the first Top 5 win for Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph, the former UConn star who served a long stint with a brief stop at Pittsburgh, on Geno Auriemma’s staff at her alma mater.

Mikayla Blakes from Sommerville, N.J., the central area of the state, scored 32 points and the tight game went into the Commodores’ permanent control on freshman Aubrey Galvan’s three-pointer with 2:05 left in regulation.

The 1992-93 Vandy team guided by now retired coach Jim Foster, the only coach to land four teams in the Associated Press women’s poll in its 50-year history with Saint Joseph’s, Ohio State, and Chattanooga the other three, is the only one at 17-0 with a better start than the current edition.

The game was the first Top 15 game in Nashville outside a Final Four since 2006-07.

“We said in the locker room we’re not going to fear anybody … I took that personally,” Blakes said on the postgame telecast interview.

Besides Ralph, Princeton coach Carla Berube is a second former UConn star with a team in the current rankings, the only Ivy to ever get ranked first done by Courtney Banghart now at North Carolina.

The other three unbeaten teams are defending champion and No. 1 UConn, No. 2 Texas, No. 21 Texas Tech and Vanderbilt, which seemed headed off the list when LSU went up 49-42 in the fourth quarter, but the Commodores answered with an 8-0 run to get back into contention.

Galvan had 14 points and following Vanderbilt’s final point off a foul shot from Blakes, LSU missed three shots before time expired.

Flau’jae Johnson was 0-for-4 from the field and scoreless for LSU for the first time this season. Jada Richard and MiLaysia Fulwiley, the South Carolina transfer, each scored 13, Mikaylah Williams scored 12, and ZaKiyah Johnson scored 10.

On Thursday, LSU is at Georgia, which recently lost its unbeaten status, while Vanderbilt hosts Missouri.

In another SEC game, No. 2 Texas (17-0, 2-0) narrowly escaped becoming an upset victim at home in Austin, winning 67-64 over Ole Miss (14-3, 1-1), which launched a big rally that fell short.

Jordan Lee for the winning Longhorns scored 17 with a key layup and foul shot late in the game.

Texas had been up by 19 early in the third period and 15 at the end before Ohio State transfer Cotie McMahon scored 12 of her 19 points in the final period for the Rebels, who also got eight of Latasha Lattimore’s 17 points.

But McMahon with 4.3 seconds left missed a pair of foul shots to make it closer, then with one second Rori Harmon missed a pair for Texas and McMahon’s long three attempts bounced off the rim.

It’s Texas’ best start since 1985-86 when the Longhorns became the first NCAA unbeaten champion at 34-0. The Longhorns are on a 35-0 home win streak.

The Longhorns blew most of their big lead by missing 8 of 13 from the field in the final period and committing six turnovers and seven fouls.

Harmon had 10 assists in the game but also committed five turnovers.

Ole Miss is at No. 8 Oklahoma on Thursday the same night Texas hosts Auburn.

No. 10 Iowa State (14-1, 2-1) over in the Big 12 got another huge game from Audi Crooks but not huge enough, snapping her string of five straight 30+ games scoring 26 but held to four in the second half while No. 22 Baylor in the road game at Ames after the home team tied it on Jada Williams’ 3-pointer let the clock run down and then a screen from Kiersten Johnson got Taliah Scott a wide-open shot from the left and she scored 2.9 seconds left to give the Bears (13-3, 2-1) a 72-70 upset.

Scott scored all 21 of her points in the second half.

Baylor’s Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had 13 points, 12 early, but matched a career-high with 20 rebounds while reserve Yutin Deng scored 12 and Jane Van Gytenbeek scored 11.

The Bears next welcome Colorado on Thursday and Iowa State is at Cincinnati Wednesday.

In the ACC, Duke (9-6, 4-0), No. 7 in the preseason poll before losing the first week to Baylor and dropping out within two more weeks, from the outside looking in won its sixth straight upsetting No. 18 Notre Dame 82-68 at home at Cameron Indoor Arena in Durham. N.C., as Taina Mair scored 23 for the Blue Devils, while Toby Fournier scored 20 against the Fighting Irish (10-4, 2-2).

South Jersey’s Hannah Hildalgo had 22 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists with three steals for Notre Dame (10-4, 2-2) which dropped its second straight to an unranked team, losing previously in overtime at Georgia Tech.

The Fighting Irish host Boston College in South Bend, Ind., Thursday, the same night Duke goes West to play Cal.

In another ACC game, Stanford, which started the season with the second most appearances in the AP poll behind Tennessee but has now slipped to fourth behind UConn and Texas, upset No. 16 North Carolina in overtime on the road, winning 77-71 in Chapel Hill, N.C., as Courtney Ogden scored 21 for the Cardinal (13-3, 2-1) and Chloe Clardy added four key points in the extra period.

Lara Somfai scored 13 and Clardy had 12 points for Stanford, which also got 10 from Alexandra Eschmeyer.

Nyla Harris scored 18 for the host Tar Heels (13-4, 2-2) while Ciera Toomey scored 16 and Elina Aarnisalo collected 12 points.

Stanford greets Wake Forest on Thursday while North Carolina is off until Sunday’s visit to Notre Dame.

The remaining ranked teams on Sunday’s big national slate all won.

In the SEC, No. 2 South Carolina (15-1, 2-0) won its 18th straight over Florida, beating the Gators 74-63 in Gainesville as Raven Johnson scored 17 points and Joyce Edwards had seven of her 11 points in the final period and completed a double double with 10 rebounds.

Florida State transfer Ta’Niya Latson, who led the nation in scoring, missed her second straight game with the winning Gamecocks, who committed 21 turnovers.

Liv McGill scored 18 for Florida (12-5, 0-2).

South Carolina next is at Arkansas Thursday.

No. 11 Kentucky (15-1, 2-0) got 19 points from Clara Strack with 10 rebounds while Tonie Morgan added 18 points and 14 assists in a 74-52 win over visiting Missouri and next is at Alabama Thursday.

Penn transfer Jordan Obio had 10 points for the winning Wildcats.

No. 8 Oklahoma (14-1, 2-0) at home in Norman cruised 95-47 over Mississippi State as Aaliyah Chavez scored 17 points and Zya Vann added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Raegan Beers added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Sooners, whose 13-game win streak is the second longest in the program behind the 20 from the 2008-09 team.

Oklahoma on Thursday hosts No. 15 Ole Miss.

No. 23 Tennessee (10-3, 2-0) on the road at Auburn won 73-56 getting 18 points from Talaysia Cooper while Janiah Barker scored 17 with eight boards and three blocked shots.

The Lady Vols, who committed 25 turnovers in the win, are at Mississippi State Thursday night.

Back in the ACC, No. 17 Louisville (14-3, 4-0) got 18 points and nine boards from Saint Joseph’s transfer Laura Ziegler in an 85-60 win at home over Virginia Tech and next plays Miami Thursday.

In the Big Ten, No. 7 Maryland (15-1, 3-1) at home in College Park bounced off its narrow loss at Washington to fall from the unbeaten column to beating Indiana 82-67 as Oluchi Okananwa had a career-high 34 points.

The Terrapins, who celebrated the 20th anniversary of their 2006 NCAA title win over Duke before the game, next is at Rutgers Thursday night.

No. 24 Michigan State (14-1, 3-1) at home in East Lansing snapped Illinois’ 11-game win streak with a narrow 81-75 triumph as Kennedy Blair scored 19 points, Rashunda Jones and Grace VanSlooten each scored 15 points.

Berry Wallace and reserve Maddie Webber each scored 22 for Illinois (13-2, 3-1), which hosts Ohio State on Wednesday while Michigan State is at Washington on Thursday.

No. 20 Nebraska (13-2, 2-2) easily won 78-62 at Purdue (8-7, 0-4) in West Lafayette, Ind., as Britt Prince had four makes from deep for most of her 17 points for the Huskers while Amiah Hargrove and Eliza Maupin each scored 13 for the visitors who next host Indiana on Thursday.

In the CAA, Stony Brook went 19-3 in overtime for a road win 73-57 at defending conference tournament champion William & Mary.

Belmont at home topped Illinois State 75-68 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

In the West Coast Conference, Santa Clara at home upset Gonzaga 77-73, while Washington State won 73-69 at Seattle.

On Monday in the Big Ten, No. 6 Michigan coming out of its first loss hosts Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network, while No. 14 Iowa visits Northwestern at 8:30 p.m. in the second game of the conference doubleheader on the network.

 

 

 

 

 

  


Sunday, January 04, 2026

The Guru’s Local/National NCAAW RoundUp: No. 25 Princeton Foils Penn’s Upset Bid in Ivy Opener; La Salle and Saint Joseph’s Win Big in A-10; No. 8 TCU Upset in Big 12

 By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELPHIA – Those who traveled here Saturday afternoon to see the Ivy opener between preseason favorite and No. 25 Princeton visiting host Penn at The Palestra got to see a live performance recapping what can be said of both programs as the Ancient Eight got under way.

Princeton (13-1, 1-0), which ultimately won 74-68, in the early going here showed the Tigers how they performed in their years of development as a power that became nationally relevant by taking a close game at the outset and blasting their way to a 25-12 lead after one period.

Then on their side of the fence they showed who they’ve been through non-conference play into the second part of this season — a talented squad against all the main opponents that has kept the outcome in doubt and then with the end of regulation in sight rises up and closes out the victory.

For Penn (10-4, 0-1), which has now lost 15 straight times in the series, the fact that the Quakers fought their way back to a single digit 38-30 deficit at the half, and then went briefly ahead in the fourth quarter, showed that on the negative losing always sucks but on the positive that on day one of the league play Penn did not shy away after the deep deficit, which portends that perhaps when Ivy Madness arrives. coach Mike McLaughlin’s group can possibly land in the second or third spot in the standings and make their way to the title contest.

Attached to that fact is the realization that elsewhere in openers Saturday, the recent ascension that Columbia (9-5) had become in recent seasons, saw the Lions get a wake-up call losing to travel partner Cornell 67-60 at home against the visiting Big Red (5-8) at New York City’s Upper West Side.

Back here, with 5:44 left in regulation, Penn’s Mataya Gayle nailed a 3-pointer from the corner completing a 12-1 run to put the Quakers up 61-57, only to see Princeton flex its power and answer with an 8-0 run highlighted by Taylor Charles’ shot from deep to swing the momentum the other way.

But it wasn’t entirely over yet, Saniah Caldwell’s three-point jumper getting the differential back to within two points with 13 seconds left.

With Penn forced to foul, the Tigers on the line responded with two from Skye Belker, and then a turnover led to two more Princeton additions from the line from Ashley Chea to wrap it up.

Madison St. Rose and Olivia Hutcherson combined for 35 points for Princeton, which won its 11th straight, St. Rose collecting 15 points and her 1,000th career tally while Hutcherson gained a new personal best with 20 points off 7-for-12 from the field with five boards, three steals, three assists, and two blocked shots.

Belker added 10 points, and Fadima Tall had seven points and eight rebounds.

“We have to do a better job executing,” St. Rose said. “We were up, we gave up our lead, Penn’s home, they’re making shots, but we’re a team that knows how to come back, stay confident and win, that’s what we do.

“The Ivy League’s a very exciting time. We have a lot of revenge; we have to take every game like it’s a championship.”

On the style of this year’s attack, Princeton coach Carla Berube, a star on UConn’s first national championship, remarked, “I thought Penn played really well. They got down, they fought back, they play well in The Palestra.

“They got hot, they started making some great shots, we got down a little bit, but then we find our way with five minutes or three minutes we find the way to play how we’re capable. In The Palestra, we’ll always be happy no matter how it happens, we’ll take the win.”

Gayle finished with 17 points and six assists for the Quakers, shooting 3-for-5 from deep, Katie Collins had 15 points and six boards, Tina Njike was 5-for-7 for 13 points.

“I thought there were spots in this game, the matchups were pretty good at times, I thought transition we had were good, I wish we had a couple plays back in the later part of the game,” McLaughlin said.

“But they’re tough to defend. I thought we did a good job. Holding them to 74, there are a lot of games in this league they are going to be over that a lot,” he continued after his team’s five-game win streak was snapped that included winning the FDU Christmas Classic on Tuesday.

“So, there are good takeaways, but there were periods in the game I thought we had a chance to put ourselves in position to win.”

Both teams hit the road to New England for a game apiece next weekend on Saturday, Princeton playing at Yale in New Haven, Conn., and Penn at Brown in Providence, R.I.

Saint Joseph’s and La Salle Take A-10 Wins on Road and Home

You have to go back 12 seasons to 2013-14 to find the last time La Salle (10-4, 3-0) was off to a 3-0 start in the Atlantic 10.

But that’s where the Explorers are following a 66-52 win over George Washington (9-7, 1-2) at home in their John E. Glaser Arena.

La Salle prevented anyone on the Revolutionaries (formerly known as the Colonials) from scoring in double figures, holding Coleen Phiri to nine points and Jaeda Wilson and Gabby Reynolds to eight points, each.

Aryss Macktoon was 8-for-19 from the field for 18 points with eight rebounds while Ashleigh Connor scored 17, with additional support coming from Joan Quinn and Ivona Miljanic with eight points each, Miljanic connecting on a pair of 3-pointers.

La Salle next goes to deƒending A-10 tournament champion George Mason in Fairfax, Va., Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) and then plays the first of two against Saint Joseph’s on Saturday, this one on the road on Hawk Hill at Hagan Arena at 2 p.m.

The Hawks, following La Salle’s Wednesday visit to Fordham on Saturday, playing at Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, got a slow start tied 13-13 after the opening period and then broke the game open powering their way to a 78-49 victory for their fifth straight triumph.

Gabby Casey had a game-high 19 points and also a game-high seven assists and also grabbed seven boards for the winners (11-3, 2-1), while Aleah Snead scored 13 points, Faifth Stinson scored 10 and reserve Emily Knouse got all nine points shooting 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.

The Rams’ Ugne Sirtautaite was the only Fordham player in double figures scoring 12 points.

The Hawks get another conference road test Wednesday traveling to Davidson in North Carolina before coming home Saturday to host La Salle.

Lehigh and Lafayette Sweep Patriot League Contests

Lehigh’s Leia Edwards had a double double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the defending Patriot League champion Mountain Hawks (6-7, 2-0) to a dominate 74-43 victory over Bucknell (4-9, 0-2) at home in Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa.

Tuana Coskun was the only Bison in double figures with 13 points.

Lily Fandre scored 14 for the home team to add to the attack, while Whitney Lind scored 10 and reserve Belle Bramer scored 11 points.

Lafayette (5-8, 1-1) got a career-high 24 points from Haylie Adamski of Media in a 63-52 Patriot win over Loyola, Md. (5-8, 1-1) at home in the Kirby Sports Center in Easton, Pa., with four rebounds, two steals and an assist.

The Leopards were able to sustain a 20-point performance from Lex Therien of the visitors, while Amadine Amorich scored 10.

Lehigh goes to Holy Cross Wednesday in Worcester, Mass., while Lafayette also heads in the same direction further playing a morning game at 11 at Boston U., both games airing on ESPN+.

In the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Rider’s winless streak went to 0-5 along with its overall 2-12 mark falling 68-56 at home in Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J., to Quinnipiac (10-4, 5-0), which is still keeping toe-to-toe with two-time defending champion Fairfield despite the loss of freshman sensation Gal Raviv from Israel who went through the transfer portal to Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“We competed with a really good team,” said Rider first-year coach Jackie Hartzell. “We did a lot of good things on both ends of the floor, but they make you pay for any little breakdown on the defensive end.

“Overall, I’m pleased with over effort for 40 minutes.”

Alena Cofield had a career-high 16 points in her freshman season for the host Broncos, while Kristina Ekofo of Belgium scored 12, her ninth game this season scoring in double figures.

The visiting Bobcats got 14 points and six boards from Anna Foley off the bench, Ella Ryan scored 15, Jackie Grisdale had 12, while Sydney Ryan and Ella O’Donnell each scored 10 points.

Rider next goes to Siena in suburban Albany (N.Y.) Wednesday for a Kids’ Day game at 11 a.m. (ESPN+).

Temple dropped its American Conference opener, perhaps too much rust from a 12-game layoff over the holidays as the Owls (6-7, 0-1) fell 50-47 to UTSA (7-6, 2-0) at home in the Liacouras Center suffering from a poor shooting attack.

“UTSA played really, really hard,” said Temple coach Diane Richardson. “I don’t think we played hard enough. We waited until the fourth quarter to play Temple basketball.

“We cannot go through the conference like that and that’s gonna be a reality and it’s got to change.”

Tristen Taylor returned from a four-game absence rehabbing from an injury in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament in the tropics scoring 18 points.

“I feel good,” she said. “I feel like I worked my way back from my (ankle) injury. I’ve been doing the things I was doing out there in the game during practice, so I felt comfortable and confident today.”

Temple next goes to Wichita State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).

Delaware on Friday, in the only local game, played at UTEP, the Blue Hens making their Conference USA debut and falling 82-71 to drop to 6-7 overall.

Safi Kolliegbo scored 22 for Delaware against the opposition (9-3, 1-0), while Kailah Correa scored 17 and Ande’a Cherisier grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Blue Hens continue their opening conference road swing Sunday visiting New Mexico State at 4 p.m. (ESPN+).

Also, locally on Sunday, Villanova tries to extend its 10-game win streak when the Wildcats in Milwaukee visit Marquette at 4 p.m. (Peacock).

Drexel, which had a bye in Coastal Athletic Association openers Friday night, begins league play Sunday hosting Campbell at 2 p.m. (FloCollege) at the Daskalais Athletic Center while in the Big Ten, Rutgers is at No. 19 Ohio State in Columbus at 2 p.m. followed by Penn State at Wisconsin at 4 p.m., both games airing on the Big Ten Network.

To look further, no locals are scheduled Monday, and the Temple game is the only one on Tuesday.

The National Scene

The slate may have been quiet Saturday, but since the arrival of 2026 on Thursday, the number of losses within the Top Ten of the Associated Press Women’s Poll, which for the first time in years did not do a vote after Christmas last Sunday due to the lack of games, is now up to four following Saturday’s 87-77 overtime win in the Big 12 by host Utah (11-4, 1-1) over No. 8 TCU (14-1, 1-1), the latest unbeaten to fall.

On Thursday, No. 5 LSU, which had been hitting 100 or more points over a slew of weak non-conference opponents, No. 6 Michigan, and No. 7 Maryland, all lost.

Two Top Five teams that stayed consistent were No. 4 UCLA, which in the other key ranked game Saturday cruised 80-46 over No. 17 Southern Cal in a Big Ten game at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, while defending NCAA champion and No. 1 UConn grabbed an easy 84-48 win in Hartford over visiting Seton Hall for the Huskies’ 31st straight victory across two seasons and 44th in the regular season over Big East opponents.

Back in the Big 12, No. 21 Texas Tech at home in Fort Worth cruised 80-49 over Arizona.

In a game not involving ranked teams but of interest, BYU in the Big 12 ended Arizona State’s program-record season-opening and tying overall win streak record of 15 winning 71-62.

In the game involving TCU (14-1, 2-1), Lani White hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation for the Utes (11-4, 2-1) and scored 25 for the game.

TCU’s Olivia Miles, the transfer from Notre Dame, almost had another triple double, scoring 31 points with seven rebounds and seven assists.

Cal transfer Marta Suarez added 23 points with 11 rebounds.

Utah goes to Kansas Wednesday, TCU hosts Oklahoma State the same night.

BYU (13-2, 2-1) got 18 points and eight boards from Delaney Gibbs in ending the streak of Arizona State (15-0, 2-1), which had nipped Utah on the road by a point on Wednesday. The Cougars also got four from deep and 16 points overall from Sydney Benally.

Arizona State’s Gabby Elliott, a former Penn State player, scored 23 and connected on three shots beyond the arc.

Texas Tech (16-0,3-0), off to its best start in program history and 3-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2010-11, got 16 points from Denae Fritz and 15 off 4-of-5 from deep from Adlee Blacklock. The program win streak record is 19 set in 1992-93 when the Red Raiders won the NCAA title led by Sheryl Swoopes.

Sarah Strong scored 18 and Azzi Fudd scored 16 for UConn (15-0, 6-0) in its Big East win over Seton Hall (10-5, 4-2). The Huskies host St. John’s Wednesday.

In the win by UCLA, Lauren Betts had a double double of 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Bruins win streak reached eight.

Gianna Kneepkins added 15 points with six boards and five assists, while Southern Cal’s Kara Dunn added scored 11 points and freshman Jazzy Davidson had 10 points.

The win put the Bruins up 55-54 in their crosstown rivalry. The Trojans on Tuesday host Oregon, which two seasons ago would have been a Pac-12 standings game, while UCLA is off until heading to No. 20 Nebraska on Jan. 11.

In other scores of note around the country, Dayton beat visiting Duquesne 68-61 in the Atlantic 10; Fairfield romped 98-42 over visiting Niagara in the MAAC; and UMass (10-2), now in the Mid-American conference after leaving the A-10, won 75-50 at Kent State.

Additionally, Army bounced back from its opening home loss to Lehigh in the Patriot to beat host Colgate 81-49 while Holy Cross on the road upset preseason favorite Navy 66-55.

Sunday’s schedule is loaded nationally.

In the SEC, No. 15 Ole Miss is at No. 2 Texas at 3 p.m. on ESPN2; No. 5 LSU is at No. 12 Vanderbilt at 5 p.m. on ESPN, while on the SEC Network, No. 3 South Carolina is at Florida at 2 p.m.; No. 11 Kentucky hosts Missouri at noon; and No. 23 Tennessee is at Auburn at 4 p.m. Additionally, No. 8 Oklahoma on SECN+ hosts Mississippi State.

In the Big Ten, at noon No. 24 Michigan State hosts Illinois (BTN); at 3 p.m. No. 20 Nebraska hosts Purdue at 3 p.m. on B1G+, and at 6 p.m. No. 7 Maryland hosts Indiana on BTN.

In the ACC, No. 18 Notre Dame is at Duke at noon on ACCN; Stanford is at No. 16 North Carolina at 1 p.m. on ESPN; Clemson is at Miami at 2 p.m. on ACCNX; and Virginia Tech is at No. 13 Louisville at 4 p.m. on ACCN.

In the Big 12, No. 22 Baylor is at No. 10 Iowa State at 3 p.m. on ESPN and in the Atlantic 10 George Mason is at VCU at noon on CBSSN.

On Monday in the Big Ten, Minnesota is at No. 6 Michigan at 6:30 p.m. and No. 14 Iowa is at Northwestern at 8:30 p.m., both games on the Big Ten Network.